For Mumbai’s college students, September and October don’t just signal the approach semester-end exams — they bring with them a different kind of dread. It’s the season of the debarred list. A single sheet of paper that can decide who makes it to the exam hall and who doesn’t. And not because of aptitude or performance, but merely on the basis of how much time a student has spent in the classroom. The mandated minimum for most colleges is 75 per cent attendance. As the semester draws to a close, group chats buzz with one wish: “I hope I didn’t make it to the list.”

On October 4, several students at Mithibai College in Vile Parle failed to make the cut, and all hell broke loose as their parents protested over the institute’s decision to debar them. In some cases, the students were short by as little as 2 to 3 per cent, they claimed. Parents kicked at the principal’s door; cops showed up; and the building had to be evacuated.