The Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) has created a WhatsApp group for parents to discipline students and to check rampant absenteeism. “Students bunking classes is a perennial problem. We want to inculcate a strong sense of discipline among our students. Our faculty members have created the WhatsApp group for guardians to promptly inform them about indiscipline,” said PMCH principal Vidyapati Chaudhary.
Rajiv Kumar Singh, who heads the college’s physiology department, is the administrator of the group. According to Mr Chaudhary, faculty members are expected to keep close tabs on the attendance and other activities of the students and inform their guardians on the group if they notice any indiscipline. “Towards the end of an academic session, we get a lot of calls from politicians seeking favours on behalf of students, who do not have the requisite attendance to appear for examinations. This is not a happy situation and we have now decided to keep the guardians informed.”
The National Medical Commission, which governs the medical curriculum, mandates at least 80% of attendance for practical and 75% for theory classes for students to be eligible for exams.
PMCH commenced physical classes from February 28 after the government lifted most Covid-19 related curbs. The 2020-21 MBBS session was delayed by seven months due to the pandemic. The college has also sought self-addressed envelopes from guardians to keep them informed in case of any indiscipline.
