Students in rural areas of various districts of Tamil Nadu, including Erode, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Salem and Madurai are being asked to leave college because they're not attending online classes. Several colleges in these districts are forcibly giving Transfer Certificates (TC) to students citing low attendance in online classes.
These students were called and informed that their TCs are ready and that they must collect it from their respective colleges. Rajesh K, a second-year student of a private art and science college in Erode, has lodged a complaint with the District Collector stating that the college principal had called and asked him to leave the college after accepting the TC.
Speaking to the news agency, IANS, Rajesh said, "I help my parents with farm work and don't have enough time to attend online classes. Whenever I find time to attend classes, it is very difficult to get a proper network to connect. This has created a problem with the college and the authorities have asked me to leave."
Students of colleges in Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Salem and Madurai, also said that they were being asked to leave citing low attendance. Another student at a college in Virudhunagar, on conditions of anonymity, said, "I have informed the college authorities that I don't have a smartphone to attend online classes but they said that it was not their concern."
The Principal of a private college in Erode, said, "We don't know what their exact issue is. Despite being asked, they did not communicate to us." The college principal said that several students have been skipping online classes because they think they need not attend these classes to appear in examinations. The college authorities feel that some of the parents are also exploiting the leniency given to students.
In Salem too, several students complained that they were being forced to accept TCs even though they wanted to continue their education. A student who is pursuing his second-year BA in English Literature said, "The college principal is calling me repeatedly. He told me that I will have to accept the TC and informed me that it was difficult for the college to let me attend the classes. I am the first one in my family to attend college and I somehow want to complete and pass the exams."
Most of the students said that they want to complete their respective courses and get a degree certificate. They also stated that they will not accept the TC.
