Mumbai: 305 medical students could lose academic year over attendance

Dwindling attendance among medical students has become a significant concern for colleges and academics Just a day after barring 305 MBBS students from two Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC medical colleges in Mumbai from university examinations officials and educators highlight the escalating issue of low attendanceThe civic body and the medical colleges are currently reconsidering the decision to debar the students with a final verdict expected withina day or twoAmong these 305 students 180 firstyear MBBS students are affiliated with Hinduhriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College associated with RN Cooper Hospital at Vile Parle and another 125 students are from Lokmanya Tilak Medical College LTMC linked to Sion hospitalA faculty member from Hinduhriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College remarked ldquoStudents are taught subjects such as Anatomy Physiology and Biochemistry with a requirement of 80 per cent attendance for practical and a 75 per cent attendance mandate for theory classes These rules are communicated to students at the very beginning of the academic year however it is increasingly common for students to disregard these regulations The problem of low attendance is steadily evolving into a concerning trend that demands prompt interventionrdquoThe faculty member added ldquoWe had even taken an undertaking from the students and parents were made aware of the low attendance of the students Only when stringent action is taken do people protest They should have spoken to the children earlier Had they been studying in private colleges would this be allowedrdquoThe decision to debar these students from university examinations could significantly impact their academic progress potentially leading to a yearrsquos loss Many parents and students have sought the BMCrsquos intervention but authorities from the two colleges stress that the decision is under review and not finalDr Mohan Joshi dean of LTMC linked to Sion hospital acknowledged the attendance issue and its potential impact on studentsrsquo academic progress He said ldquoThis is not a final decision and we are working on a solution We will announce it within a week or ten daysrdquoSudha Shenoy a representative of parents added ldquoStudents are immersed in their preparations for the NEET PG exam The initial years primarily focus on theory leading students to spend significant time in the library Moreover the emergence of effective educational apps after the COVID19 pandemic has shifted studentsrsquo focus towards PG studies which extensively cover clinical topics The first two years mainly encompass preclinical courseworkrdquoAccording to parents students at other civicrun medical colleges like KEM and BYL Nair issued prior warnings and offered extra lectures for students with attendance issues as a final caution These colleges have also warned students of the potential consequences for low attendance in the futureShenoy added ldquoThe phenomenon of students skipping lectures is not recent However the fact that some students have attendance rates as low as 35 per cent is clearly unacceptable and necessitates intervention In my opinion colleges should have issued warnings or implemented debarment measures during the midterm This proactive approach would have emphasised the seriousness of the situation potentially acting as a deterrent and crucially preserving these studentsrsquo academic yearrdquoOne of the parents of a student studying at LTMC Sion hospital mentioned that the college has assured their childrenrsquos participation in the exams stating ldquoOur problem has almost been resolved We too have asked our students to attend lectures regularlyrdquoDr Neelam Andrade BMCrsquos director of medical education was unavailable for comment305No of students barred from exams