Kolkata: Students protest 65 per cent attendance norm in state colleges
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Protests were flagged under Calcutta University in north Kolkata. ( Source: File Photo)College students in Kolkata on Friday took to the roads over their demand for relaxation of norms mandating 65 per cent minimum attendance to write their examinations.
In what was the latest in a series of protests over the last week, police sources said around 400 students of Heramba Chandra College blocked traffic movement at Golpark in south Kolkata.
“On the first day, they gheroed the teachers’ room. The next day, they stopped students who were eligible (to write the exam) from filling their forms. Now, they are saying they will not allow any student to take the examination. We have been asked to follow norms strictly. That doesn’t mean we are not sympathetic towards students. We have considered time and again,” said Nabanita Chakraborty, a teacher at Heramba Chandra College.
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Uphill task for govt: College ‘discipline’
The imposition of “discipline” in state colleges and universities has been one of the biggest challenges for the Trinamool Congress regime, especially in a state like West Bengal, which has a long history of student politics. The state government recently barred student unions from running admission helpdesks after complaints emerged of extortion over college admissions, including by its own student wing, the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP). Other such measures include the introduction of a credit system and a 60 per cent minimum attendance policy. Any move to curtail politics in educational institutions has and will continue to meet with heavy resistance, said an education expert. “After all, for cadre-based parties, colleges serve as recruitment grounds. Student unions too have been able to influence everything from admission to attendance,” said the expert.
While sources alleged that there had been a minor scuffle between the protesters and police, this was denied by both sides. “Students put up a road blockade from 2.40 pm to 3.50 pm but they were dispersed peacefully,” said a police officer.
“We didn’t clash, we just broke the barricade,” said a protesting student, over the phone.
Similar protests were flagged in another college under Calcutta University in north Kolkata. Students of Gurudas College shouted slogans and protested for hours, demanding relaxation in the attendance norms.
“We were told by union dadas that if after one or two classes we sit in the union room, they will be there to support us and we will not have any attendance-related issue. But now, suddenly, the college is not allowing us to fill the examination form. However, there are a few who have hardly attended classes, but they made it to the list of students having attendance more than 60 per cent. Clearly, the system is not transparent and we have decided that if we are not allowed, then other students who have been named in the list will also have to miss the examination,” said a student of Gurudas College.
On Saturday, a section of students had agitated at Behala College, alleging that those having less than 60 per cent marks were asked to pay a large sum of money to some union leaders in order to be allowed to appear for undergraduate examinations. The union members had denied the allegation.
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