Braving dodgy connectivity, lack of devices, and other technical glitches, city college students have been trying their best to attend classes online.
College managements, meanwhile, have been insisting that they would withhold admission tickets for students with less than 75% attendance during the lockdown period.
Parents and students are now turning to the state government to direct colleges to waive the attendance requirements.
“Colleges must take a student’s situation into account,” said a parent, pointing out that they hail from different socio-economic backgrounds. “Even with all facilities, students are unable to attend online classes due to power cuts or poor network.”
Another parent said their son, studying biotechnology in a reputed city college, received a message that his attendance was inadequate. “How can the college count on attendance for online classes, when attendance depended on power and network?” the parent asked.
A student had to miss many classes due to poor network in his house. “The broadband didn’t work,” the student said. “The telecom service provider was helpless due to the heavy load. Had it been off-line class, I would not have missed a single class.”