College refuses to budge, 105 students lose academic term

Mumbai: As many as 105 students from Kandivli’s KES Shroff College lost their academic term as the college, citing low attendance, refused to let them appear for the examinations on Thursday.

Parents and students of the first year of degree courses protested outside the college and even managed to get a recommendation letter from Mumbai University’s (MU) controller of examinations. But, the college refused to relent.

“The MU is just trying to bulldoze us. What is the locus standi of the controller of examinations on this issue? The students also got a letter from the MU’s students grievances cell, rather than the low attendance students’ redressal committee, which would have been the right forum,” Lily Bhushan, principal of the college, said.

The students were denied hall tickets because they had less than 60% of attendance in their academic year. The principal said the second term had only 77 lectures and 60% attendance would have meant attending only 40 lectures. “If students can’t come to even this number of lectures, then what are colleges meant for – only to conduct exams?” Ms. Bhushan said.

Before the scheduled start of the exams at 2 p.m., parents tried to convince the college. “We literally pleaded with the college authorities, but they simply refused,” Dilip Panchal, a parent, said.

“Where were these parents when we were issuing attendance warnings and blacklisting students?” asked the principal.