Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi has announced that none of their students will be allowed to skip classes in the coming session even if they contract the corona virus. All the students were informed through an email that no student will be given any leeway in attendance even on testing positive for covid-19. Although, absences allowed per course will remain intact but no special relaxation shall be given on medical grounds, hence, university has advised all students to use their absences wisely and remain active for avoiding late comings and skipping classes. This decision and announcement by IBA has not been welcomed by many in fact, students and general public have registered their concerns regarding it.
The email also included a list of SOPs which are to be practiced by students while attending the classes as the much anticipated decision of reopening the educational institutes is about to be made. Message communicated by IBA is somewhat unclear and vague as they state that no student will be given any relaxation on medical grounds but the same email states that if any of the student has symptoms of covid-19, he/she shall remain at home and avoid attending the campus.
The current policy of IBA Karachi states that students have to maintain a minimum standard of attendance which is not to miss more than 5 classes of a course, whereas, some of the courses allow a maximum of 2 leaves only. Students who don’t remain compliant with this attendance policy are given an F grade in the semester exams which means that a particular student has failed the course. Let us all wait and see, what the next decision is as this one has surely not been one of those decisions that universities would like to cherish.
