Uncertainty looms as GLC Mumbai labels over 62% students as attendance defaulters day before exam

NEW DELHI: Just a day before the final semester exams, over 300 final–year students of Government Law College, Mumbai - more than 62% of the entire batch - have been labelled as “attendance defaulters” and summoned to college for seeking permission to sit for the exam.

The incident came to light after Supreme Court advocate Manasi Bhushan posted a final-year law student’s request letter seeking help. The student claimed that faculty at the Mumbai law college skipped classes and the attendance recording devices were non-functional.

“Administration did not follow Mumbai University guidelines which provide for giving warning letters to defaulters twice in a semester, meeting of parent / guardian middle of the semester and finishing of all the formalities regarding defaulters at least 10 days prior to commencement of exams,” students alleged.

Bhushan urged GLC alumni, faculty, lawyers specially those practicing in Bombay High Court to help these students who are being “forced” to find their documents to prove their attendance and fault in the system just a day before the exam. Government Law College, Mumbai will commence the semester exams from April 16.

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Government Law College, Mumbai will commence the semester exams from April 16. A day before the exam, the administration notified a list of attendance defaulters. It has been published based on a flawed record of attendance against which we have already raised our grievances earlier, the student said.

"More than 300 students - of which 165 are from V-V and 180 students from III-III - have been asked to visit college tomorrow in front of the attendance committee," the law student said.

What does MU guidelines say?

As per the Mumbai University guidelines, the attendance committee ensures that the records are maintained in order and that the warning letters are issued to the defaulters at least twice in every semester.

In addition to briefing students about attendance during the admission period, it also requires the committee to call defaulters along with their parent or guardian “to meet the Convener, attendance committee in the middle of the semester with a view to make the consequences adequately clear while understanding the difficulties if any and encouraging the learner to comply with the requirement of the attendance”.

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The delayed action and the technical difficulties have worsened the situation, and yet the students are being penalised.

“For multiple subjects the teachers themselves did not take the classes and for the classes which did happen the scanning device of the college did not work. Neither is the notice in consonance with university guidelines. Neither has the college complied with other requirements of issuing warnings,” the student added.

The GLC Mumbai is yet to issue any official statement or responded to the students’ concern.