Malabar Christian College (MCC) here has been embroiled in a row since Sunday after one of its students hailing from Punjab committed suicide following denial of permission to write his semester examination due to attendance shortage.
Jaspreet Singh was pursuing BA in Economics. He did not have the attendance as mandated by Calicut University’s regulations to write the final semester exam. His family members accuse the college authorities of being unsympathetic to his plea for a relaxation in the norm citing domestic problems, but the Principal and other teachers claim they have only followed the regulations.
The Kerala Students Union took out a march to the campus on Tuesday. Following a minor scuffle, its activists were arrested by the police. The Students Federation of India had staged a protest the previous day.
Family’s charge
An inconsolable Manmohan Singh, Jaspreet’s father, told media on Tuesday morning that the Principal and college authorities were adamant even after they requested them to let Jaspreet write the exam. His sisters Balvind Kaur and Gurpreet Kaur pointed out that Jaspreet’s request to make up the attendance shortage was not considered even after a medical certificate was produced. When Jaspreet approached the university authorities, they clarified that it was up to the Principal to grant permission to write the exam.
Godwin Samraj, Principal, however, denied the allegations and said there had been no discrimination against the student. He told a press meet in the afternoon that every student should have 75% attendance to be eligible to attend the semester exam. Students could be granted 20% relaxation on medical grounds. This could be utilised as 10% each during two semesters or 20% as a one-time measure.
Mr. Samraj pointed out that Jaspreet had already utilised the second option. “The family members never approached me or the grievance redressal cell. Though someone had called me to ask about Jaspreet, I don’t recall his name,” the Principal said. Students can check their attendance status every day using their login ID and password.
Louis J. Kattady, Head of the Department of Economics, claimed that nobody from Jaspreet’s family had spoken to him.
