The Calicut University’s steering committee for Choice Based Credit system (CBCS) is drawing flak over its proposal to eliminate attendance as a criterion for internal marks for undergraduate courses.

Academics have alleged that the lack of importance to attendance will lead to disciplinary problems on the campuses and students being engaged in non-productive activities.

In the present system of internal marking, 5 marks each is awarded to seminar, attendance, assignment and class test. However, the steering committee on February 8 decided to scrap the attendance component and introduced a new component ‘classroom performance’. The proposal is forwarded to the academic council for approval.

Pay for attendance

The committee’s decision to extend condonation system to all semesters too has drawn criticism. At present, 75% attendance was mandatory for a student to appear in the semester examination. Condonation (pay for attendance) was allowed twice during the course, if the student was ready to shell out ₹790 for 10% attendance and ₹1,050 for 20% attendance, along with a medical certificate.

However, the committee has now proposed to allow condonation in every semester. Thus, even a person with just 50 days attendance during the 90 working days in a semester can appear for an examination.

“This practice is illogical and detrimental to academic excellence,” said Varghese Mathew, secretary of Unaided College Principals Council (Kozhikode and Wayanad).

He said that the new system might lead to students not attending classes as attendance was not mandatory.

“An assistant professor at the entry level gets the salary of a sub collector. If attendance is not mandatory, classroom teaching is not relevant. Then why do we pay such huge salary to college teachers,” asks Mr. Mathew.

The principals council has requested the university to reconsider the decision before the final approval of the academic council.