UGC attendance rules leave medical leave policies up to individual colleges

UPDATE - follow-up to The cost of being absent: students caught between health and attendance: New regulatory frameworks leave minimum attendance requirements entirely to individual higher education institutions. The University Grants Commission 2003 regulations mandated a 75% threshold, but the 2025 guidelines remove this universal rule.

Institutional Rules

Most higher education institutions set minimum requirements between 75% and 80%, offering a 10% accommodation for medical emergencies. Medical and engineering institutes maintain higher criteria through their respective regulatory bodies. The Nursing Council of India mandates 80% attendance in theory and 100% in practical areas.

Context

Individual institutions establish their own statutory bodies to govern day-to-day academic policies, including attendance and leave structures. This decentralisation means that student experiences with illness vary widely depending on the specific college they attend.