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Not to mention, the UGC mandate is 75%. The only reason for this 85 cut off to ever exist is that christ can squeeze out some more money from us poor students who end up not meeting the 85 criteria. They can just keep extra classes or assignments for those who don't meet the criteria, but they purposefully ensure fines are the route they take. Educate yourself properly please, the situation in Christ is not as simple as you're thinking. Don't blame the students, the students at Christ and genuinely very very dedicated individuals.
Do away with attendance requirement, make exams more stringent. If they can pass strict exams without attending classes, good for them.
I remember being admonished to the corner of the classroom near the dustbin for being disruptive like we were kindergarten babies. This was the general approach back then and sad to see that nothing has really changed.
Also, this incident is probably one of the least-traumatic (and funny in retrospect, on account of it being outrageous) memories from my time at Christ out of all the unpleasant experiences.
Thank you, author, for your voice.
But blessing in disguise is they prepared me, though unknowingly, to preserve myself and organise secretly against an autocratic regime that ironically came to, power an year after my graduation.
Taken initiative, get experts to take over your classes, engage faculty in doing this. This is what our batcmates/seniors did. Our dean was supportive, and our credit courses ended up being a mix of external/internal (60:40) faculty. Certain courses were taught nearly entirely by externals with faculty merely coordinating. Took care of bad faculty issue., and expanded our exposure. Get in place student leaders, and treat professors with respect and initiate conversations.
- a Nirma graduate.
Jesus Christ in the Bible is often referred to as the Good Shepherd who heals, guides and cares for his flock i.e., his disciples. Christ University, taking inspiration from this metaphor, treats its students like sheep and cattle but does not go all the way to be a Good Shepherd because the students are not 'deemed to be' worthy of autonomy, respect or dignity.
What appeals to thousands of students across the country about Christ University is its self-proclaimed attention to holistic learning and academic integrity, and of course, discipline. Parents like myself too are convinced that the university provides the perfect opportunity for children to learn, grow and develop into responsible, skilled adults. It doesn't take too long however, for reality to rear its ugly head.
Attendance is a word that every student of Christ dreads because 85% is the minimum required attendance for a student to be able to attempt an end semester examination. That is if one does not wish to pay a significant sum of money as fines. If money is not an issue however, anything above 75% will do just fine. Attendance in the University is weaponized against every student, day in and day out. How else would you ensure that students attend and listen to professors who lack basic communication skills and the ability to effectively teach concepts and theories? There are several exceptions to this rule and there are no doubt some excellent professors in Christ, but they are drastically outnumbered and more often than not disallowed any significant say in the running of the institution.
Independent thought is actively discouraged among faculty and students alike and professors who are lenient and opt for a more student-friendly approach to teaching are quickly identified and tormented by the management. To be a successful professor at Christ, being arrogant and inconsiderate to student concerns is a prerequisite and those who do not fit this template eventually change or choose to resign. Christ is an institution where in most classrooms, students may not use laptops for basic academic activities such as note-taking, accessing reference material and so on. This is because each student is treated with disdain and suspicion at every turn.
It is this disdain that has led the University to effectively ensure that there is absolutely no student voice in the institution. Not one student body exists that is representative of the students at large and this right to a collective opinion is one that each student has to waive by virtue of a signed document before admission to the University. A so-called 'Student Council' exists which consists of students that are good at academics and acceptable to management. This body has no powers, no control over student affairs, and absolutely no autonomy. Ironically, most of the professors at the University seem to be concerned with the state of democracy worldwide and in India. If only one were taught to look inwards first.
The University has been exposed for what it is in the last two years for its functioning during the COVID pandemic. When a student of the University succumbed to the virus, the University decided to offer its respects by admiring the fact that he was in constant touch with his professors to meet deadlines while in the hospital. This is the level of inhumaneness and insensitivity that prevails in the institution. Drop dead, but don't you dare miss your deadlines. Every time the institution reopened amidst the pandemic, social distancing norms were not enforced, students and faculty alike were infected and all this because of the management's skewered sense of self-importance which dictates that they are the sole protectors of 'academic integrity and rigour'. Throughout the pandemic, students have been burdened with mind-numbing assignments and arbitrary examinations but once a month, without fail, the University sends students an e-mail letting them know that management does in fact care about their mental and physical well-being. This is necessary because the actions of the management certainly do not reflect this compassion or concern.
Christ University is not all bad either. The campus is green and beautiful and there are plenty of opportunities for students to grow and explore different avenues (as long as these avenues are acceptable to the institution and do not affect your attendance). But if you are a parent who wants your child to learn and develop in an environment where he or she is given both respect and guidance and where free thinking and independence of thought are encouraged, do not go knocking at the barn doors of the Bad Shepherd.