Education Is No Longer Restricted To Classroom Teaching; Mandatory Attendance Requirements In UG & PG Courses Need A Relook: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court said that it intends to form a committee to reconsider mandatory attendance requirements for undergraduate and postgraduate courses across institutions of higher education in light of the mental health of students.
The Court stated that there is an imminent need to reconsider the attendance norms, whether they “ought to be made mandatory at all” or what should be the minimum required standards of attendance or should attendance be encouraged rather than penalties being imposed for lack of attendance, etc.
A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Amit Sharma observed, “This Court intends to form a Committee to study all the above factors and to place a report before the Court so that certain uniform practices can be evolved for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in respect of attendance requirements.”
Sr. Advocate Dayan Krishnan appeared for the petitioner, while Sr. Advocate Rajesh Yadav represented the respondents.
The Court initiated a review of attendance policies across universities and higher education institutions, in light of the unfortunate incident where a law student from Amity Law School, Delhi committed suicide in August 2016.
The case began with a letter dated August 20, 2016, sent by a friend of the victim to the then Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur. The friend alleged that Rohilla had been subjected to harassment by the institution and some faculty members for maintaining low attendance, which eventually led to his decision to take his own life. The letter petition showcased the “tormented psychological state of students in colleges and universities due to mental harassment by the authorities and professors.”
The Supreme Court initially took cognizance of the letter, appointing senior counsel F.S. Nariman to assist in the matter. The case was later transferred to the Delhi High Court in March 2017. Since then, multiple hearings have been conducted, involving various stakeholders including universities, regulatory authorities, and the Bar Council of India.
The main issue now before the Court is whether mandatory attendance should remain a requirement in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, bearing in mind the teaching methods which substantially changed post COVID-19, such as online learning.
The Court observed that the “issue of mandatory attendance is also a cause for concern in the younger generation who perceive the same in a completely different manner than was traditionally thought.”
Further, the Bench noted that attendance requirements may or may not be the same in urban and rural areas where technology may not be fully permeable. “Attendance may have to be positively encouraged rather than shortage being penalised by debarring from exams etc,” the Court stated.
“In the opinion of this Court, teachers and students need to be consulted in order to consider what should be the standards of attendance. Wider consultation would also be required to be undertaken to have a relook at the need to have mandatory attendance,” the Court stated.
Consequently, the Court issued notice to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the National Medical Commission (NMC), and the Union Ministry of Education, to assist the Court in formulating its final recommendations.
Accordingly, the High Court listed the matter for further hearing on 9th September, 2024.
Cause Title: Courts On Its Own Motion In Re: Suicide Committed By Sushant Rohilla, Law Student Of I.P. University (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:6375-DB)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Sr. Advocate Dayan Krishnan; Advocates Sukrit Seth, Aakashi Lodha and Sanjeevi Seshadri
Respondents: Sr. Advocate Rajesh Yadav; SC Avnish Ahlawat; Advocates N.K. Singh, Lavanya Kaushik, Aliza Alam, Mohnish Sehrawat, Raajan Chawla, Gautam Chauhan, Honey Khanna, Shyam Singh, Monika Arora, Arjun Mitra, Bharathi Raju, Siddharth Panda, Mohinder JS Rupal, Hardik Rupal, Neeraj Verma Amitesh Kumar, Priti Kumari Mrinaal Kishor, Vibhakar Mishra, Ankit Jain, Divyanshu Rathi, Keshav Datta, Rupal Luthra, Abhishek Budhiraja, Raajan Chawla, Yashi Singh, Pragya P Singh, Anju Bhushan Gupta, Aditya Goel Sanjay Gupta, Yashvardhan, Kritika Nagpal, Gyanendra Shukla and Pranav Das