Mandatory class attendance by students is a must if institutions are to produce individuals with the required skills and expertise to be competitive in the market environment. However, there are people who posit that going to classes should be optional for students resulting in a big controversy. In my point of view, students should be required to attend classes. Many learning institutions have developed many policies with the major aim of helping their students to excel.
While some learning institutions have rules that force the students to attend class regularly, others have an optional attendance which allows students who are unable to physically attend classes to obtain their education. However, research has shown that, universities offering optional attendance, have low quality of education compared to universities which insist on physical attendance. Social interaction provided in the physical attendance of classes by students gives them social skills which enhance their interaction skills in their future endeavors. Mandatory class attendance is helpful to the students and the country at large. The major purpose of students going to institutions of learning is to learn and therefore these institutions should ensure that they develop good policies which will facilitate the learning by students. Teachers in the learning institutions are known for facilitation of learning and therefore they should ensure that all programs offered in these institutions meet high quality. It will be difficult for teachers to come up with innovative programs if their students cannot be forced to attend classes regularly. It will therefore be difficulty for these students to meet the high demands of the workplace and reduce their chances of being recruited. In addition, class attendance is a way of developing discipline and responsibility. This character is important even in the work place.
To achieve high quality education, teachers should be constantly encouraged to come up with innovative programs for the learners and students in general. The primary and ultimate responsibility of any learning institution is to empower its students to gain knowledge and skills that will help them easily find a job. To do this, teachers should strive towards equipping their students with the necessary skills and knowledge which can help them find employment. They should ensure that their students are forced to attend classes regularly. When there is mandatory student attendance in class, it will easier for teachers to teach their students more than just theory. For instance, a medical student who did not obtain the relevant skills to diagnose people’s diseases would find the profession of being a doctor very difficulty if not impossible. According to Chen (11) “There are more stressed out teachers, meaning that they are likely to not really be able to focus and give each student the attention that they need,” In this aspect, it is impossible for a student to obtain experience just after receiving education. It will therefore be very negligent for such students and others in general to attend classes optionally
By students attending their classes regularly, their social abilities will be improved since today’s life require that one should in some cases deal with individuals whom they may disagree in mind and thoughts. For example, it is mandatory for doctors to deal with their clients (patients) who would rather be in another place. Computer programmers on the other hand will be required to diagnose the needs of their customers rather than just being only acquainted with the latest technology. With the increasing complexity of modern life, team work is an essential aspect towards the accomplishment of complex tasks. As such, students will be unable to pick on their team mates and therefore will be forced to deal with other individuals without putting in mind their outlooks or attitudes on life, “College Students are not children. We don’t need to be supervised during recess and we shouldn’t have to supply notes from home to explain why we aren’t in Class” (Attendance policies infantilize students 10).
There are those who argue that attending classes should be optional for students since students are supposed to attend classes which they are only interested in because naturally, interest is known to be the mother of study. It has been proved beyond doubt that indeed, students attend classes enforcedly and immediately if they have interests in them. This is also attributed to the fact that students are not always interested in every class and therefore should be given an option of choosing the classes they would like to attend so that a higher efficiency of studying can be cultivated. If students were given the chance of choosing between the bad and good classes, they can be able to give up on the undesirable classes and instead concentrate on the classes they are interested in will make the students distribute their study time which is important for the success of any student. However, this does not help students in achieving long life skills such as communications skills and presentation techniques that can developed in a classroom. Besides, students who attend classes are able to get inspiration from different teachers and this important in developing a well rounded individual.
In conclusion, the major and sole reason of any learning institution is to facilitate the learning of students so that they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to help them in their future lives. Mandatory class attendance should be upheld by all learning institutions so that students get high overall quality of education. This will also ensure that these students acquire the necessary skills and knowledge and develop the much needed social skills. These are the basics that will enable them function well in their respective areas of expertise. As highlighted above, there are many benefits of attending classes that translate to more benefits to students and employers as well.
Works cited
Anonymous “Attendance policies infantilize students”. New York: La Voz Newspaper Articles, 26 (2009): 10.
Chen, Jessica. “Enrollment increases by six percent?” New York: La Voz Newspaper Articles 26 (2009): 11.