Delhi HC stresses reviewing mandatory attendance norms in colleges, universities

The bench said instead of penalising students for low attendance, they should be encouraged to attend classes.

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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that there is an imminent need to re-look at mandatory attendance norms in colleges and universities as the teaching methods have substantially changed post the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court said the mental health of students, which is also affected, needs to be borne in mind while considering attendance requirements and the role of grievance redressal mechanism and support system in educational institutions is required to be streamlined.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma said the issue, whether attendance requirements ought to be made mandatory in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, deserves to be addressed at a much higher level rather than restricting it to any specific course, college, university or institution.

The bench said instead of penalising students for low attendance, they should be encouraged to attend classes. The court said it was inclined to form a committee to study all these factors and to place a report before it so that certain uniform practices can be evolved for UG and PG courses and the attendance requirements therein.

The high court was hearing a plea, initiated by the Supreme Court in September 2016, on the alleged suicide by a student of Amity Law University. The matter was transferred to the high court in March 2017. Sushant Rohilla, a third-year law student of Amity had hanged himself on August 10, 2016 after the university allegedly barred him from sitting for the semester exams due to lack of requisite attendance. He left a note saying he was a failure and did not wish to live.

Dealing with the issue, the high court noted that the regulatory bodies as also some universities, in their statutes and ordinances, have historically prescribed mandatory attendance requirements. “The same may require a re-look, especially bearing in mind the teaching methods which have substantially changed post the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent times, it is not unusual for colleges and universities to hold classes, examinations virtually or on online platforms. The issue of mandatory attendance is also a cause for concern in the younger generation which looks at education in a completely different manner. Education is no longer restricted to classroom and in fact extends to more practical areas,” the bench said.

It said there is an imminent need to have a re-look at norms for attendance, whether attendance ought to be made mandatory at all, what should be the required attendance, should attendance be encouraged rather than penalising lack of attendance.