Anjuman-I-Islam Institute of Hotel Management and Chetana’s Institute of Management has a unique way ofensuring that students attend college, they take anythingbetween Rs 50 to Rs 200 from students who miss lectures
While Mumbai University states that colleges cannot take money from students, a few institutes claim to be doing it for the betterment of their students. mid-day has found two cases where administrators fine students for missing lectures.
Anjuman-I-Islam Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology
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College I
Anjuman-I-Islam Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology takes R50 as penalty for every day they are absent without permission. Students can also lose marks and even be barred from sitting for exams. According to the college, the fine is a way to discipline students who bunk college without informing their parents.
A leave card is provided to every student of the first, second and third years. According to college regulations, students are given leave with the signature of their parents, and the reason for leave has to be mentioned in the card.
However, according to students, the college allows only five days leave in one academic year, and after that they have to pay Rs 50 for every day they are not present in college. Students claim that they usually end up paying anywhere from Rs 3,000 to even Rs 8,000 per academic year.
The other side
Harish Suvarna, principal of the college said, “We penalise students when they are unable to justify why they were not present in college. Every student and their parents spend a lot of money on college fees and if they miss classes, it is a huge loss for them. The fine is to discipline those who hang out in the name of college and might get into trouble. The fine that we collect is given to deserving students who get good marks, during annual day. It is also used for the annual festival organised by final year students.”
Fined for leave: The leave card provided to every student of the college mentions that students will be fined if they are absent without taking permission from their parents
College II
Chetana’s Institute of Management and Research at Bandra (East) charges its PGDM students R500 for every subject in which their attendance is low. Every defaulter is given a receipt that they have to present in the examination hall to be able to write their paper.
The administrators have altered the rule of minimum attendance required, from the entire semester to individual subjects. It is not surprising then that out of 176 students in the PDGM course, 115 are expected to pay the fine. At the beginning of the course, students also paid an extra R8,000 for academic books, which they haven’t received till date. With the second semester exams scheduled for April 15, they have been asked to pay the penalty by April 12.
The other side
A spokesperson from Chetana Institute said, “The PGDM programme comes under the aegis of AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) and is not affiliated to the university. Our attendance norms are clearly mentioned in the prospectus and action for non-compliance has been communicated to both students and parents at the beginning of the year.”
However, when this reporter contacted AICTE’s Chairman, SS Mantha, he said, “No institute under us is allowed to take money from students for not attending lectures. If there is any evidence of it, we shall take action against the college.”
University speak
The senate member of Mumbai University, Pradeep Sawant confirmed that some students have approached him and complained about the college’s practise of taking fine. “Mumbai University does not permit taking fines like this; we will speak to the college about this issue,” he said.
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