Published: 08th January 2018
JNU students union boycott classes to protest "IIT-like" compulsory attendance rule
The students are protesting the move which was called by the vice-chancellor but is being supported by some of the faculty
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The compulsory attendance rule has been implemented in other colleges like IITs and other University-affiliated institutions
Amid all the controversies and disturbances that attached themselves to Jawarhalal Nehru University, New Delhi in 2017, the new year seems to be no different. The JNU students union, one of the most vocal and powerful youth wings in the country, on Sunday decided to proceed with not marking their attendance after the administration insisted on making attendance compulsory.
In a meeting with the JNU vice chancellor this morning, JNUSU president Geeta Kumari said, "we explained to the administration how such a surveillance is going to curtail academic freedom and destroy JNU culture. We explained how students attend lectures not just in classrooms but also at dhabas and the hostel mess. Learning is a 24X7 process for us. The VC, however, insisted on the adoption of compulsory attendance model of IITs," Kumari said, after submitting a memorandum with around 2,500 signatures.
JNUSU joint secretary Shubhanshu Singh said that they have started a campaign on the move in some classes. Some professors are also taking part in the campaign," Singh said. However, JNU Teachers Association president Ayesha Kidwai said that the teachers' body would decide its course of action at its General Body Meeting which is scheduled for January 10.