Students at Foshan University in Guangdong Province can no longer choose their own seats in class, according to a new policy recently adopted by the school. Similarly, Zhongbei College of Nanjing Normal University has instituted an assigned seat system, in which name cards designate where each student sits.

The schools say that they have taken these measures to decrease student absenteeism, China Education Daily reported. 

"We stopped allowing students to choose their own seats in order to increase class attendance, and to make it easier for teachers to take roll call," the vice president of the Mechatronics and Electronic Engineering School of Foshan University, surnamed Yu, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

"The school is concerned about the number of students who fail to graduate because of too many absences, and we decided to take the measure to prevent this and increase attendance."

Students at Zhongbei College of Nanjing Normal University take their assigned seats according to where their name card is before class begins. The cards of those who are late or absent are displayed in the front of the room. This system makes it easier for instructors to know at a glance who is late or absent.

One instructor at the school said that since the policy began, only three students have been late and there have been no absences.

In response to a lively debate over the schools' tactics, Sina Weibo surveyed 1,000 people on their opinions of Foshan University's seating rules. The survey showed that 76 percent of respondents didn't support the measure, some saying that it will destroy the atmosphere of the university and others holding that it will not solve the problem fundamentally.

"The measures taken by the two schools reflect obsolete and fusty ideas at universities," said Chi Xi, an associate professor at Beijing Institute of Education. "Currently, universities put too much stress on attendance, which is not in accordance with modern educational theory."

According to research on college instruction conditions launched by the Chinese Association for Applied Statistics, the main reason why students want to "escape" from class is because they have no interest in the course. In light of this, some contend that it is worth investigating why some courses are often packed and others experience more absenteeism.

"The best way to increase classroom attendance is to make classes more attractive," said Chi.

Global Times