Should attendance be made compulsory? (Don't miss discussion at 15:10)

In this video, I discuss the rather contentious question on making attendance compulsory. I discuss it in the context of different points that are often put forward to justify skipping classes.

1. Students pay for their education; they get to decide whether to attend or not.

2. Students are adults and they should be able to decide whether to attend or not.

3. Some students can manage to perform better on their own; forcing them to attend does not help them.

4. If the quality of teaching were better, then attendance would automatically improve.

Disclaimer: I am a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering Department of IIT Kharagpur. However, the views expressed in this video are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my Department or my Institute.

#jc #Attendance #CollegeLife

[oofusmcdoofus]

This is probably my first time ive heard a professor speak so logically and coherently about attendance.

[aliasgar]

It’s so true that quality of teaching is directly proportional to attendance.
As a student of NIT I can say that if professor teaches well students automatically come to the class otherwise not.

[MirzaAli-rc]

I did not study in IIT
But I learned in long
Learn you should
Have ability to
Become expert
By reading textbook

[-bj]

I have ADHD and classes are nothing short of a waste of time for me no matter how good the professors are, and I am the topper in a tier-1 research institute. I always learn much better and much quicker from books. Attendance requirement is quite simply ableist.

[sundernarayan]

My comment is going to be slightly longer than the one I posted on the survey.
First, kudos for addressing the elephant in the room as it is getting increasingly evident that this issue is gaining momentum especially with so many self-learning platforms.
You hit the nail on the head when you talked about education not being a commodity. You are right when you say, just because someone has paid the college fees, doesn’t entitle them to a degree. I think people need to get it clear that the fees people are paying is not for the final degree but a service charge to the institution to facilitate the learning and education which finally culminates in the degree/certification. Now, in that if the institutions make it compulsory to attend classes as one of the criteria, then it is fair. To corelate, we all pay the road tax, but we still have traffic signal on the road, and we must follow the traffic signal. Do we say that we have paid the road tax, so it is up to us how we drive?
People forget that classroom is not just for the lecturer to come and deliver and for the student to simply absorb. It is also a place for discussion, exchange of thoughts and ideas which will also benefit a larger section. Further, the classroom and college are a part of the larger scheme of society where in you learn how to live within the society and follow rules in addition to the learning of the subject. For anyone to study, the environment is so important and the being in college and attending classes gives the right feel. Also, all your knowledge cannot be gathered from the textbooks. You need have firsthand experience as an apprentice which is a crucial element in applied science (which incidentally engineering is!!). I can safely say that I do forget what I have read from the textbooks, but I still remember the small things which my professors have taught me even to this day.
Finally, for those who don’t want to attend classes, I would suggest that instead of joining college, why don’t you try and take the AMIE exams all by studying on your own. Now, there will be few students who can read on their own and crack the exams, but exams are just one part of learning. For majority of the students, classroom is essential and so is structure and discipline. For a person who done his AMIE, after that done two masters in classroom-based environment and now doing his PhD, take it from me when I say nothing can replace classroom learning, it has elements of truth.

[gbcmouli]

Sir, I think the question is very complicated to answer in a general way. That is clear from the way you are trying to answer from the teachers' side and students' side. But it is a genuine effort from your side👏

[TanuBiswas-lv]

Very happy to see a professor speaking about these topic which are least talked about. All the points are very well explained sir...One thing that I would like to add on this is that...there are times when a student faces some medical issues and miss some significant amount of classes...many a times professors still pose that mandatory attedence thing on them...even after providing them with proper medical certificates...which creates a great amount of stress for that student..this is also a matter of concern

[flyingcakes]

Liked this balanced take. Agree with your opinion on the first 2 points, that students having paid doesn't mean they're free to bunk classes. Schools / universities, among other things, also serve as a place to polish young people. Its only after that initial polishing we say that they're adults and eligible to make their decisions. So, reasonable disciplinary actions are also fine. And yes, many students don't want to attend classes irrespective of how good the professor is. That is certainly true.

[angshudeep.official]

Sir I guess compulsory 75 percent attendance it is very high ... it should be around 65 what do you think ..

[dineshmathsclasses]

I think some students performing well may be given some relaxation in attendance depending upon their marks scored.

[Valor-glory]

I think we should not divert from the final aim of any education system and also all that institutions of tht system which is the education itself … means knowledge, if i can get a better understanding, a better knowledge from other resources then my classroom.. which is very much possible in todays era….then i don’t think attendance has any relevance.

[alqamashaikh]

I think NEP will create significant impact, and some theoretical courses in are not properly taught & learnt according to modern applications. For example, if I know that with Mechanical system design course, I would be able to design a project from scratch and also use modern techniques like generative design in FEM course (and why even take exam for FEM theory, why not make them write a generative design code? ) even if we are able to develop a single part using constraints it will be beneficial for everyone and fruitful. Instead of traditional classroom learning where we have to sit hours, engineers need to actually make full use of university campus and so does teachers need to make efforts in the direction that, their learning is transferred by not just listening to teachers instead by actually trying something out -> Failing and then teacher correcting or guiding them throughout the semester.

Another propositions is, semesters could be designed as projects where in we need to complete the course in order to excel in the project. Because in the end, we have to solve field problems

Again, nice words by you!

[ashwith]

I think what's important is that teachers must be encouraged/directed to evaluate exceptions and allow them without much friction.

All of the rules we have do indeed make sense. There would have been some wisdom behind it. But this usually caters to the majority. Exceptions always exist and teachers must evaluate these without friction.

Just as an example (and maybe its a bad example since I don't know enough details from both sides to judge the situation fairly) consider the recent case of a poor student who didnt get admission to IIT because he missed the date for the payment. The institute ahould have quickly evaluated this case as an exception and given the admission. We shouldn't have had to get the courts to intervene. I know of several students who have gone abroad and stayed there because there's way too much friction/red tape, etc here. Again, maybe it wasn't the IIT's fault, maybe they would have made an exception if circumstances were different (maybe they are short of staff).

[srikanthtupurani]

World has changed so much . Now courses are available in you tube. Even if a student misses some classes he can watch videos and clear some doubts. But we have to be clear . No chat gpt, no you tube video can match direct interaction with teachers.

[playandwatch]

I think 40% attendence should be enough in private colleges to write the exam.

[PIRA-bxbu]

Sir Please make a video on how to analyse where we are lacking in our studies and how to minimise the mistakes that we done while studying

[AmitKumar-erdx]

Thank you sir, for highlighting the reality of education system.
Sir, you are the only professor that actually able to understand the pain of students. ❤❤❤

[Piyushthote]

As nitian, for us classes are just waste of time as no interaction bttween students and professors, to harsh behaviour of professors, attendance lacking lead to not entering in end sem is wrost decision by our college 😢😢😢

[Academicrelated]

I really need this type of videos where 1to1 communication with logical and calm speaking teacher and professor without any edits ❤❤❤❤

[bhaktikanthaliya]

Sir I have question

Is it possible to crack IIT with rank under 50 without coching and only with study material, reference books, YT lectures and deep self studying
If it is, please make video on it and also a video on maths calculation ( straight numerical one like 15.58×78.53÷987 )I am weak in solving such a problem

Love you and your videos 💗 💗