Should attendance be made optional in colleges.

Attendance is an important criterion to be fulfilled by students pursuing education in a college. But due to its compulsion, students have to maintain a minimum required percentage of attendance in order to submit their practicals and assignments and to also sit for the semester examination. Moreover, at the graduation level, many students begin preparing for competitive exams, which demand a lot of time and dedication. Therefore, managing attendance along with preparation for competitive exams becomes a challenge. In addition to this, students who are pursuing education along with preparation for sports are not able to give much time to college and classes. Furthermore, many students live in PGs and hostels, which are far off, so commuting daily becomes a task for them. In my opinion, attendance should be optional; students should have a choice to attend classes as per their routine, but there should be a minimum percentage that has to be attained, for example 40%, in order to give exams. Consequently, the students will be responsible for their grades, how they perform in exams, and how they keep up with the classes and complete their course in time. In conclusion, education should be about learning, not just fulfilling formal requirements.