Bengaluru: Bunking is fun until something as shocking as this happens! Believe it or not, as many as 3700 students having attendance shortfall in the state will be restricted from appearing in the II PUC board examinations to be held from March 1 to 17.

In the first phase, the college administrative boards have informed 1,700 students regarding the shortfall in attendance and it did not go ahead printing their hall tickets. Along with this, the PU Board later prepared a list of another 2000 students who have attendance shortfall.

Last year, 4,204 students lost the opportunity to write the examination. As per the rules under Karnataka Education Act, students should have minimum 75% attendance in every subject. The students who are restricted from writing exams this year will have to wait till 2019 to appear for the PU Board examinations.

The PU Education Department had submitted a list of students with the shortfall of attendance to the respective college administrations, but this did not bring any change in the attitude of the students. Earlier, principal and PU education department director had the right to give 5% attendance, but since this was found to have been misused by the students by producing fake medical certificates to write exams, the Apex Court has now made it mandatory for all students to have 75 per cent attendance to be eligible to appear for the examinations.

“From September to January (Sep.5, Nov.30, Dec.31, Jan.31), notice was served on a shortfall of attendance four times, which is put on notice board. For the first time, a letter was sent to students’ address. In some private colleges, messages were sent to parents’ mobile number. Still, students didn’t take it seriously,” an official said.