The Students' Federation of India (SFI) Hyderabad Central University unit staged a protest at the administration building of the campus on Tuesday, May 9 against the 75% attendance criteria for exams. Around 70 to 80 students participated in the protest and on the next day, May 10, the protesting students had discussions with the administration regarding the same.
As per the University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, students must possess a minimum of 75 per cent attendance to appear for Undergraduate (UG), Post Graduate (PG) and PhD exams. "About 40% of students are not eligible for exams as this was a short semester," pointed out SFI-HCU Secretary G Mohith.
Explaining the short semester point, the secretary highlighted that classes for the academic year 2022-23 started only in September because of delayed admissions owing to Common University Entrance Test (CUET) hence, a short semester followed. "In a short semester, students may lose a huge percentage of attendance even if they miss a single class," he stressed. Moreover, "This UGC norm is not compulsory for every university. Even Delhi University don't follow," he claimed.
Voicing this concern, the student group met the administration officials two weeks ago. "The administration informed students with 60% attendance will be allowed on a case-to-case basis. But however, this was not executed when the exams began on May 9," he claimed. Following this, students staged a protest on the night and held discussions with the administration on May 10.
Outcomes of the negotiations
The administration official announced that students with 60% will be allowed to appear for the exams. This 60% includes 55% of regular attendance and 5% of medical claims. On the other hand, the student points out that a notice was not issued regarding the same. "Without the notice, faculty members are not willing to agree. They are asking students to get a notice from the administration," he added.
Attendance confusion
Moreover, "Many students were not aware of their total attendance because the e-portal stopped working for the past two months. Therefore, the faculty stopped uploading the attendance on the portal. Additionally, they stopped displaying attendance on the notice board," the student leader alleged.
"For May 9 exam, over 20 students were not allowed to appear. For today's (May 11) and tomorrow's (May 12) exam, there are more than 150 students who are in the same boat," he stressed.
Words of Dean
Refuting the claims that the faculty didn't disclose the attendance details, Dean of Student Welfare (DSW) Prof G Nagaraju told EdexLive, "The attendance was displayed for students. And most of the cases with valid reasons have been resolved." Further, he added that for students with attendance below 55%, "The Deans and Faculties of the respective departments will need to take a call."
"However, most of the cases were resolved yesterday (May 10). Only 30 to 40 students had issues and more or less this has also been resolved. Students are appearing for exams as well," the dean stated. There is no clarity on how many students weren't able to attempt the exam because of the criteria despite lienancy.
What now?
Mohit told EdexLive that as no notice is being issued, the talks are still on with the administration. "Today, we are going to meet the DSW at 2.30, if the meeting is not fruitful, we will resort to another protest," he said.
