Maharashtra govt clarifies 100% attendance not binding; decision left to colleges or universities

Three days after the state government released a government resolution (GR) making 100% attendance compulsory for all teaching and non-teaching staff of colleges,

Three days after the state government released a government resolution (GR) making 100% attendance compulsory for all teaching and non-teaching staff of colleges, the department of higher and technical education released a clarification on Monday.

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In its clarification, the state has specified that 100% attendance is not binding, and respective colleges or universities can decide how many staff members, especially from the examination department, need to be present in order to ensure smooth functioning of the upcoming online exams for final-year (summer 2020) students. It further states that institutes can also decide if physical presence of the staff is required for exams or whether they can smoothly conduct exams through online presence.

The previous GR dated September 18 had highlighted that based on the Supreme Court judgement of August 28 to conduct final-semester exams and to conduct the same, teaching and non-teaching staff will be required in absolute numbers. It further stated that the practice of conducting examination includes several processes like question paper preparation, assessment of answer sheets, preparation of mark sheets and declaration of results; and all this work will require a large amount of manpower. “To complete the challenging task, 100% attendance of teaching and non-teaching staff is required henceforth,” stated the September 18 GR.

This, however, received flak from the teacher community across the state and a petition of almost 2,000 teachers from across the state was sent to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s office on September 19.

“The call for 100% attendance at a time when the state is still witnessing spike in Covid-19 cases was unnecessary, and we are glad that the government understood our plight and clarified their stand on the GR,” said Tapati Mukhopadhyay, president, Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (MFUCTO).

Meanwhile, a delegation of college representatives has approached the Central government and railway ministry for help in this matter. “If at all any college in Mumbai plans to call their staff to work, the government needs to help us by ensuring that these teachers and non-teaching staff members will be allowed to travel by train to and from work,” said T Shiware, chairman of Mumbai Association of Non-Government Colleges.