Probe into low attendance: VC

MUMBAI, April 1: The University of Mumbai has set up a committee to enquire into a case where 53 undergraduate students were denied permissi...

MUMBAI, April 1: The University of Mumbai has set up a committee to enquire into a case where 53 undergraduate students were denied permission to appear for their final year exam (1997-98) for low attendance while the college spared another defaulter.

For the first time Vice Chancellor Dr Snehalata Deshmukh has used her special powers to institute an inquiry into a particular case, according to the former chairman of Bombay University Students Council Sameer Desai. The defaulter students (arts and science stream) from the Ramnarain Ruia College, Matunga had held a sit-in near the VC’s room on Wednesday afternoon and submitted a letter

to the VC.

District President of National Students Union of India, Pranil Nair stated that students complain that the Ruia college principal refused to answer queries on what they called the "discrimination" against the defaulters with a lone exception.

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The students also faulted the manner in which their professors noted down students’ attendance. "It is taken irregularlyand varies from professor to professor. For example, sometimes attendance is taken only once or twice a week and students are marked present or absent for the week on the basis of that day," they stated.

They revealed that some among the defaulters were allowed to fill up the examination form and pay the fee. Principal of the Ruia college R T Sane could not be contacted. The VC disclosed that the panel will comprise Deans of Arts and Science, V Balaporia and R T Laul respectively, and Director of College and University Development Board M N Welling. The report will be submitted at the earliest, she added.

The inquiry committee’s report will also be tabled at the Academic Council meeting scheduled on April 16. The council will take up the procedure of registering the students’ attendance and suggest measures to avoid such instances in future, Deshmukh told Express Newsline.

Earlier, nearly 150 undergraduate final year students from Mithibai College were allowed to sit for examinations in spite ofa very low percentage in attendance. Deshmukh maintained that she is not considering any inquiry into the matter for the time being as she has not received any complaints. Meanwhile, Bhagwanji Raiyani, national convenor of Forum for Fairness in Education, told that referring the Mithibai case the forum will file a case against the university regarding strict attendance and ban on private tuitions and tutorials.