NEP 2020 does not specify any particular clause that prescribes a particular percentage of attendance mandatory for a student to appear in summative assessments. However, it does address the issue of low attendance indirectly. It focuses on the core reasons behind low attendance and suggests remedial measures. ‎Thin attendance, or low attendance of students, is a termite in the education system and the biggest hurdle in the universalization of education. It is one of the biggest obstacles to elevating the quality of education in our schools. This culture of low attendance is more prevalent in rural areas than in urban ones.‎ thin attendance among students is not merely a disciplinary concern but more than that. It affects not only the student exhibiting this behaviour but potentially their peers as well, who may emulate this from their friends and fall prey to the habit of low attendance. Low attendance is a nation wide issue in our country. ‎According to a study in rural India,4.73%–17.84% of students of primary and upper primary stage were absent almost every day. Similarly, descriptive study releaved that in the primary and upper-primary levels, attendance patterns “have remained stagnant at close to 72%,” with large variation across states (as low as ~50-60% in some states) despite nearly 98% enrolment. In the capital, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) data show that in the 2022-2023 academic year, ~348,344 students, i.e., about 18% of all enrolled students in Delhi government schools, were identified as “chronically absent” between April and October. More recent tracking by DCPCR flagged 667,732 students in Delhi as chronically absent between April 2023 and February 2024.‎

Thin attendance devours on certain things like poverty, sibling care, bad company, disengaged classrooms, and an unsafe school environment. Students from humble backgrounds often have to assume and take on adult roles at a tender age. They have to support their parents in running families and managing family affairs. They sometimes have to engage in child labour and earn for their families. Older children, often girls, have to take care of their younger siblings while the parents are out at work. This comes at the cost of their education.
‎ Similarly, some students who come from well-off families mingle in bad company that encourages bunking classes and roaming freely. The teenage years are a critical stage in a student's life. It is a period of increasing hormonal changes, because of which they often feel stressed. They fight numerous battles within themselves and develop an urge for companionship. The company can make or break them. If the company is bad, so will the child be. If not handled and guided properly, the child may fumble and lose. During the teenage years, the responsibility of parents and teachers increases manifold. They can provide the teenager with good company, understand them, and guide them.
One of the most potent factors which feeds low attendance of students in schools is the repellent classroom environment. The NEP 2020 recognizes low attendance as a manifestation of disengagement, low-quality teaching, and an irrelevant curriculum. The sight of a cane in a teacher's hand, a grim look on their face, unhygienic classrooms, and poor-quality toilets are all repellent to a child.
‎Similarly, the non-availability of female teachers in some schools serves as a solid factor that forces girl students to stay at home .This problem is more prevalent in far flung upper hamlets of rural areas where a swollen roll of girl students are enrolled. In an era when "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" (Save the daughter, educate the daughter) is our slogan, we cannot be complacent and act irresponsibly. Every girl deserves a safe and secure environment. If the presence of a female teacher in school is soothing and reassuring to her, we must ensure she has one.‎
Every teacher should be a good child psychologist. A psychologically well-informed teacher can guide the holistic development of a child. He can understand the emotional brittleness of a child and guide it in a proper direction. Well known American psychologist and behaviourist Mr B.F. Skinner says, "Give me a child, and I will shape him into anything." Only a firm psychologist can claim something like that. Such psychology learnt teachers can build a strong relationship with the child and inculcate self-confidence in him. A teacher who knows child psychology teaches a child. He understands who and what he is teaching. He understands what the student actually needs and plans the lessons accordingly. But the teacher who doesn't know child psychology only teaches a subject. He bores the students with his useless and tasteless lessons. Such boring and tasteless classes are a cause for a child's absence.‎
In the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, there is a centuries-old tradition of migration to upper meadows, locally called Dhook, during summer along with all their livestock. Their livestock often consists of herds of sheep, cattle, buffalo, horses, and broods of chicken. Their livestock is usually large and needs the utmost care of a considerable number of family members. In such situations, the children are readily available to lend help and shoulder the responsibility. There have been instances where students belonging to the Gujjar and Bakerwal community remain absent from school for weeks on end.
‎This vicious culture of poor attendance can be checked with certain concrete steps by direct stakeholders. It can be prevented by taking all the stakeholders on board . Poor attendance can be done away ,with the proper parent sensitization with regard to the importance of education in modern times and deleterious effects of absenteeism and PTMs furnish us this chance. Calling for frequent PTMs ( Parent Teacher Meetings) is of course in sync with departmental procedure which says that all schools should call PTM at least once in a month. Additionally, teachers should establishes a positive communication with students and this will enables them to know the learners better and teach them more effectively. Teachers should encourages students to communicate with them in and outside classroom to understand their problems more clearly and seek appropriate remedy. Such communications build a confidence and trust among students for their teacher. Every school should frame a complaint disposing committee consisting of teachers, students and few parents which will directly talk with students periodically, hear their problems and seek remedy. Each school should designate a complaint corner. A box should be installed there in which students, who otherwise are reluctant and hesitate to openly speak about their issues, will drop their concerns in written. There must be a swift and transparent mechanism for addressing these complaints. This will ensure that students feel heard. They will feel loved, respected, valued, and secured within their learning environment.

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