ISLAMABAD, May 29: New policy introduced by the National University of Modern Languages (Numl) making 70 per cent attendance mandatory for participation in the examination has sent a wave of unrest among the students of the university.

Over 300 students were asked on Tuesday that they could not sit the examinations beginning from Thursday as their attendance was less than 70 per cent.

The new rule took the students by surprise and they constituted a delegation which met the university Rector Maj Gen (retired) Masood Hasan in a bid to convince him to implement the new policy from next session but he refused to entertain their request.

Later, the students gathered outside the management block and started chanting slogans against the management and the new policy. They also blocked the transport of the university.

Some students while talking to Dawn said that in the past the students having overall 70 per cent attendance were allowed to sit the examination but now the management had changed it making 70 per cent attendance in each subject mandatory.A teacher of the university on condition of anonymity said: “Even teachers were not aware of the new policy otherwise they would have made the students to attend all the classes.”

The Numl spokesman, Malik Amir while talking to Dawn said during orientation ceremony in February this year, all the students had been informed about the new policy.

Meanwhile, the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) students protest entered second day on Tuesday as a result of which studies could not be started in the university. The protesting students announced that they would start hunger strike from Wednesday.

A student while talking to Dawn said that they would continue their protest till the reinstatement of all 11 students who were expelled after the protest on April 27.

On the other hand QAU management  in a press release condemned the continuing acts of indiscipline and harassment of the faculty by some students.—A Reporter