Mumbai: Over 100 students at Mithibai College denied admission over poor attendance

Poor attendance in colleges is a common phenomenon and students are often found queuing up outside the principalrsquos office to justify their long absence from classrooms In rare cases students are barred from appearing for examsHowever more than 100 students with poor attendance record were shocked when the Mithibai College management refused to accept their admission forms for the next semester ldquoWe were called to the college and told that since our attendance was below 20 per cent our admission forms will not be considered for the next academic yearInitially we thought the college was threatening us so that we would get our acts straight But our admission forms have not been accepted till daterdquo said one of the students The students belong to the first and second year of the BCom and BA courses While some of the students have already sought admissions in other colleges several are still waiting to hear from the college officialsParent speak ldquoMy husband and I personally went to meet the principal We agree that our child has low attendance but thatrsquos because hersquos also pursuing the Chartered Accountancy CA course alongside his BCom The college authorities refused to accept any reasons and have denied admission to over a hundred students for the next semesterrdquo said one of the parentsWhat has left students and parents fuming is the alleged bias exhibited by the college management while denying admissions ldquoIf the university rule states that any student with attendance less than 75 per cent should be reprimanded then why are only those children whose attendance is below 20 per cent being targeted All students with attendance below 75 per cent should be denied admission to the next yearBut the college is denying admission only to usrdquo said another student With no positive response coming from the college authorities several parents and students have sought help from Naari Sanmaan Sangathan a city NGO ldquoSome of the parents were insulted by the college staffHow can a college act like this Whatrsquos worse is that the college had never clarified at the beginning of the academic year about the kind of action it would initiate against students with poor attendance How can they randomly implement such absurd rules at the last minuterdquo said Sundari Thakur from the NGOWhat the rules sayAs per the university rules students have to ensure 75 per cent attendance in order to be eligible to appear for examinations University officials say that while colleges can bar students with poor attendance from appearing for exams they lack the authority to refuse them admissions to the next semesterldquoA college can debar a student if hisher academic progress is not up to the mark but attendance canrsquot be the only criteria for denying admissionsrdquo said Madhur Nair Dean of Commerce faculty University of Mumbai