Colleges ask students to explain absence from classes on campus

Kolkata: Many colleges have sought an explanation from students on why they have not been attending in-person classes, and have asked them to submit “relevant documents” to substantiate their reasons. Attendance in most colleges has remained low even a week after classes resumed in offline mode. Some principals and teachers are interacting with students from different batches to understand the issues they are facing in returning to campus. The initiative from the colleges has come after the higher education department asked for a daily report on attendance — of students and teachers — on campus. “There is a government order that everybody must attend offline classes,” said Krishna Roy, principal of Bethune College. On Wednesday, the college registered almost 50% attendance. “Many students are based in districts and other states. They are arriving gradually. Some batches have just finished their examinations and others have internal exams. So, we are expecting attendance to increase in the next few days,” the principal said. At

Maulana Azad

College, authorities are reaching out to students through emails and WhatsApp, asking them to attend in-person classes. “The attendance has improved from what it was on February 3. Several students have just finished exams and many will soon have internal exams. We are contacting other students on WhatsApp and email to ask them to attend offline classes,” said

Subhasis Dutta

, principal. Authorities at

Seth Anandram Jaipuria College

are submitting a daily attendance report to the education department. “Attendance has gone up this week, but we are expecting more students in the next few days,” said an official.Colleges like Scottish Church,

Lady Brabourne

and Maulana Azad have also reopened their hostels so that outstation students don’t face any difficulty. “All our hostels are now open, and students have started arriving,” said a Jadavpur University official. Many colleges have decided to wait and watch in February. “We want to give students some more time to get used to the offline mode. If attendance remains low, we might have to introduce some strict measures,” said the principal of a south Kolkata College.