Present, Sir!!! – #Every Student's Nightmare at PEC

A daily chore

*Alarm beeping*

I extend my hand once again to snooze it just like I’ve done many times before, but my half closed eyes catch the text written on the screen of my phone. “07:50”, it reads. That’s the moment when I wake up with a jolt. Realizing that I’m already late for the 8AM lecture, I decide to bunk bathing extending the “no bath” streak by one more day. I just brush my teeth, spray some deodorant and literally run for the lecture skipping breakfast once gain. I reach the lecture hall and hear my roll number being called out. A voice automatically shouts out, “Present, Sir!”

This is not just my story but the story of almost every student attending college. The rule book says that the students have to maintain 75% attendance during the semester or else they’ll be barred from writing the examinations. Now, 25% leaves sound pretty decent at the beginning of every semester, but then reality dawns upon us and we realize that we’re on the brink of getting debarred. There begins the quest for attendance.

Sleep… An addictive drug 

Sometimes, maintaining attendance is tougher than actually passing the subject. The main reason for not attending the lectures for an engineering student is sleep. Leaving the warm cosy quilt on a chilling morning is a herculean task for the majority of students. After sleep, there comes the “I’m not in a mood” factor. Maybe, the professor had given an assignment in the last lecture and that’s the reason why the person is not in a mood to attend the lecture today.

What did just happen!!?? 

Even when you reach the lecture hall in time, there’s no guarantee that you’ll get attendance. Why? Just because the lecture was getting way too boring and you decided to take a short nap. Your “dear” friends don’t wake you up at the time of attendance just because they want to have a look at your “oh, crap!” face.

Talking of friends, one of them may have called out their attendance but when the roll call is about to reach your roll number, they will tap your back and try to engage you in some interesting conversation. Somewhere, during the conversation you hear a roll number ahead of your own. “Congratulations, you just lost one attendance.” Your friend is now laughing his heart out at what just happened. You request the professor after he’s done taking attendance but all he says is, “you’ve been marked absent”, and walks out of the hall.

That “tu hi mera bhai hai” moment. 

What are the three words that every engineering student craves to hear? No, it’s not “I love you”. It’s “lagva di attendance”. That’s the concept of proxy for you gentlemen. Proxy is known for strengthening the bond of friendship among peers. Managing a proxy is no easy task. If caught, the person attempting it may be marked absent.

Now comes the end of the semester when professors announce the names of the students who are having less than 75% attendance. This is the time when the students may be seen running frequent errands to the professor’s office and requesting him to just “let it go”. This is the time when students agree to make whatever number of assignments required just to impress the professor.

Hope you manage your attendance this semester.