The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration may introduce biometric attendance for its students if the present practice of marking attendance on register is not followed in its true spirit. JNU already had the system of biometric attendance for its officials, including the Vice-Chancellor and other staff.

Recently, following the footsteps of other varsities and in consonance with the attendance rules prevailing elsewhere, JNU in order to ensure regular presence of students in classes has made students attendance mandatory. According to the new rule, 75 per cent attendance is mandatory for a student to appear in the exams.

The new rule is the fresh “bone of contention” between left dominated JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) and JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on one side and administration on other. With former opposing it ‘tooth and nail’. However, with administration remaining steadfast on its decision all attempts by JNUSU and went in vain and rule was eventually implemented.

JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar told The Pioneer that “compulsory” attendance was introduced in the  backdrop of the high “drop-out” rates of students particularly in foreign language courses, absenteeism from classes, PhD students taking more than usual time for completion among others.

“Some postgraduate students fail to complete their course within the time frame. They usually take one more semester for it. Similarly, there are some non-serious students in PhD who take 6 years and more to complete their PhD which can be normally done in 3 years,” said Kumar. He said that such non-serious students are the one who want to avail fellowship all round the year but don’t want to attend classes.

Further, saying that administration is closely watching and if the present system of marking attendance on register is not followed ‘honestly’ by some who may devise ‘unfair’ means to subdue the whole exercise then in order to plug “loopholes” administration may bring in system of biometric attendance at its various schools and centres.

Approximately 8200 students are studying in JNU which is much less as compared to most of the central universities.

Thus, according to JNU administration keeping in view the limited strength of student’s it had introduction of biometric system of attendance is quite a ‘feasible’ option in JNU.