The university does away with 5% marks for centum attendance, 75% minimum to stay
If marks were the only incentive for many engineering students to log 100 per cent attendance in class, the situation may change soon. The Anna University has done away with the variable part of the exam results that is determined by the number of classes attended every semester.
Till now, five per cent of the marks scored by every student depended on his/her attendance in class. This was in addition to the mandatory 75 per cent attendance for every course, which still remains in place.
The decision was taken after a Syndicate meeting held on Monday. The rule will be applicable with immediate effect in the four colleges under Anna University.
The decision, said M. Sekar, Dean, College of Engineering, Guindy, was taken after the heads of various engineering department and lecturers suggested that it was getting increasingly difficult for them to keep track of every student's attendance. “Every student goes either for sports activities, competitions and fests which comprise at least 15 per cent of the total attendance. Teachers have said that once students have the necessary 75 per cent minimum attendance, there is no need to keep count further.”
Students are quite happy with the new rule as many who often scored good marks in both internal and external exams lost out on marks only because their attendance was not above 95 per cent. Until now, students who had 95-100 per cent attendance was awarded the full 5 per cent marks while those with the minimum 75 per cent attendance would not get any marks. “The attendance score often influences teachers marking our internals. Many students would attend classes only because they wanted the marks and not because they were interested,” said Rajendra, a student of the Madras Institute of Technology.
“Does it mean we are allowed to bunk 25 per cent of the classes,” asked another student, who pointed out that these ‘marks devoted to attendance' often made him attend classes which he would skip otherwise. Now, 45 per cent of the student's score depend on her performance in internal exams.
Teachers, on the other hand, are quite happy with the new rule. A lecturer in the mechanical department of Anna University said, “It is a pain to have students who are not interested in attending classes but do so just for the sake of it. Teachers need to find other ways of urging students to attend classes by making them more engaging.”
Keywords: attendance marks, Anna University
I am from an Anna University affiliated college under Tirunelveli Sector. Actually by attending all the classes also, we are not thorough in most of the sections that our staffs take classes on. It is many because many of the staffs are freshers are they are not well in teaching professional students. Even while we raise some doubts, most of the teachers find it difficult to make us understand the concepts. Hence we find comfortable in having combine studies with our friends rather than attending the college. Another great harassment that we face is the concept of NO DUE form. The fact is that it has no relation with any dues. It's mainly used by our staffs to reduce our confidence. They want us to tell all the 100s of formulas/answers in one go without even allowing us to think for a second. Without sign in this, we are not provided with the hall ticket. The time has exceeded for the university to have a check on these things in every colleges that are affiliated with them.
Mandatory 75% attendance is a bad concept. In Anna University, only the brightest students from the state join. If the subject and teaching is interesting enough, the bright students will obviously come. But many of the teachers in Anna University are incompetent. Thats why students dont find attending classes useful. If you really want to improve the education standards, raise the quality of the teachers. Dont make things mandatory.
Hope this system of doing away with 5 marks for attendance and the same norm as
Anna university be made applicable to affiliated colleges under anna university as students all over would benefit through the system.
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