The All India Students Association (AISA) on Monday registered its opposition to the state government’s decision to make 75 per cent attendance mandatory for filling out examination forms in 10+2 (senior secondary) schools in Jharkhand.
AISA’s state co-secretary, Sanjana Mehta, while protesting the 2022 decision taken under the National Education Policy, 2020, said that achieving such a high attendance percentage is only possible when all sanctioned teaching positions are filled and adequate educational resources are available.
“Regular student attendance is only possible when all sanctioned teaching positions in schools are filled, and adequate educational resources are available. However, the reality is that approximately 65 per cent of the sanctioned teaching positions in 10+2 schools across Jharkhand are vacant. The imbalance in the number and location of schools is also a major problem, forcing many students to travel 40-50 kilometres to attend school. Lack of transportation facilities, financial constraints, the compulsion to engage in farming and other livelihood activities, and health problems also affect student attendance,” Mehta said.
AISA representatives also met with the principal and teachers of SS Doranda +2 Girls High School and appealed to them to stand with the students on this issue. During the meeting, the actual attendance situation at the school was discussed.
“According to available data, approximately 150 girls are enrolled in the Intermediate Arts stream this year, but only about 40 per cent of them are meeting the 75 per cent attendance requirement. If no clear and lenient instructions are issued by the JAC Board office or the district education officer (DEO), more than 50 per cent of the students may be barred from appearing for the exams,” Mehta, leading the AISA representatives, said.
State vice president of AISA, Vijay Kumar, said that teachers were engaged in voter survey work as BLOs (booth-level officers) during class hours, which was disrupting teaching and learning.
“This situation clearly demonstrates that the government is engaging teachers in non-academic tasks while simultaneously imposing a harsh condition of 75 per cent attendance on students, even though 25 per cent of the sanctioned teaching positions remain unfilled. This is completely unjust,” he said.