Mumbai: Having been banned from semester IV exams after low attendance, second-year students gathered at Wilson College to protest the decision taken by college authorities on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Nearly 100-150 students gathered on the college campus to protest their exclusion from exams, which begin on Monday, March 20. This crowd grew larger when first and third-year students realised that the decision applied to semesters II and VI as well.
Students continued to claim they could not complete the requirement of 75% attendance as they were representing the college in sports events and other cultural activities. They argued that the decision was implemented hastily whilst providing them no prior notice about the same.
“The college made the same announcements while we were in our third semester, but never implemented it. This led many to believe that it was not a strict rule. Students then took up internships, full-time jobs to support their families while losing out on the lectures,” said a second-year BMS student at Wilson College.
The protests were spotted by members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) who intervened and had a word with the authorities. “At the end of the academic years, the college cannot deprive the students of examinations nor can they hold them back from any curricular activities. To do so is to violate the Maharashtra Public University Act and Constitution of India.,” said Santosh Gangurde, a member of the student group.
Seeing the position of the students, college authorities decided to keep the end-semester examinations open to all students irrespective of their attendance. Wilson College also released a notice about the same later that evening.
