The University Grants Commission (UGC) could look into relaxing its guidelines that mandate 75% attendance in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), said UGC Secretary Manish Joshi. He was speaking at a talk titled ‘Engineering the Future: Opportunities and Career Pathways for Budding Engineers’ at the Progressive Education Society Auditorium in Shivajinagar, Pune. Responding to a student’s question about the mandatory attendance policy hindering student’s extracurricular activities, Joshi said that the commission would look into the suggestion of relaxing the mandate. “There is a difference between the time when 75% attendance was mandatory and the current era. The previous education system was just between a teacher and a student. Therefore, attendance was a necessary condition. Anyway some colleges take a soft stance on students regarding class attendance. Now there are many mediums of education and there have been changes in the education system. Due to this, relaxation of the 75% attendance rule can be considered,” he said. Joshi also talked about the enthusiasm of Indian students and their change in attitude. He said, “How many of you feel that you will have your own Unicorn in the future? Wow! So many of you. If I had asked you all this 10-15 years ago, no one would even know what a Unicorn is. Everyone would have thought of a horse…The mentality that you all have, of providing employment rather than seeking employment is extremely good. And all of you have this caliber.” A Unicorn is a private startup company valued at over US$ 1 billion. Joshi said that India ranks 3rd in the world after the United States of America and China in the number of unicorns, which he attributed to the spirit of students.
