KOLKATA: Calcutta University Vice-Chancellor Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee, who left the campus last night after about 26 hours following students' stir for permission to appear for examination despite inadequate attendance, today said the demand could not be met.
"I left the campus at around 9.30 pm last night as I was feeling unwell and the students did not stop me. I will go to my office again this afternoon. I hope the agitating students will understand a rule framed in 1999 and enforced in all these years cannot be changed. Class attendance is important for any student," she told PTI.
Banerjee had not left the campus from 8 pm on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, 30 of the 78 students who did not have adequate attendance continued the sit-in stir which entered the third day. The sit-in started from 8 pm on February 20.
The VC had earlier said "While we allow students having at least 55 per cent attendance with a fine, 78 students of the Bengali department do not even have the 55 per cent attendance. We cannot allow them."
The first and third semester post graduate examinations will start from February 27 for 800 candidates. Of them, 78 did not have require attendance percentage.
One of the 30 agitating students said they would also launch relay hunger strike if the authorities did not consider their demand. "On several occasions teachers do not take classes, but mark attendance sheets sitting in the staff room.
If the students are penalised on attendance issue, why are not the teachers subjected to scrutiny?" he asked.
They said the sit-in would continue, but "we won't stop our teachers or the VC or other varsity officials from entering or leaving office."