Taking care of the golden goose

Never, ever, ever, cause stress to a student by pressurizing him to study hard. His father's money pays your salary, and it is never a good idea to stress out the goose that lays golden eggs. And if (s)he does not pass in the final examinations in one attempt, no one pays us extra money for the additional six months that we have to bear with him. So get them to pass, and get rid of them.

 Not everyday does one come across such charming advice, but many a Chairman of private dental colleges in their rare jovial and chatty moods have shared this nugget of wisdom with their faculty members. So much so, that most faculty do not really dare to stop any student (and especially if it is a post-graduate student) from appearing for an examination for lack of attendance, incomplete or poorly done course work, bad dissertation or even downright anti-social behaviour.

The only reason (s)he would ever be stopped is if the college management somehow discovers that there are unpaid dues - or even some extra money that can be collected from the student due to some alleged misdemeanour. To this end, the faculty is encouraged to report chronic absenteeism, incomplete work quota, alleged ragging, improper uniform and such other slip-ups by the students, directly to the Principal and / or management, instead of taking any action at the departmental level. This always results in a monetary penalty (unless the student's father is well-connected, or is a friend of the Chairman).

Students with even an abysmal 10% attendance are eligible to appear for their University examinations on payment of an attendance booster fee. Since the onus of keeping track of a student's attendance is on the college - universities don't check such mundane things! - whatever attendance data is sent by the college to the university is considered to be final.

On the other hand, departmental staff keep getting smarter too. It would be sacrilegious for them to receive any personal gain from a student - if such a matter is reported to the management, he would certainly lose his job. But asking students to contribute towards the improvement of the department is always a good thing. Not only does it help spruce up the department for inspectors to feel happy about, it also receives the blessings of the Principal and management. Students are therefore asked to contribute useful items like charts, photographs, curtains, projector screens, printers, printer ink and other consumables, notice boards, signboards, small dental equipment, dental materials etc. Even refreshments for external examiners are sometimes procured through fund collection by post-graduate students.

The students are also aware that in exchange for the money they pay out, they would not be harassed to work/study hard, or risk failure in their examinations. The money practically guarantees cooperation!
 
What's a few thousand rupees extra, when the students are already paying a few lakhs for their educa... err... degree certificate?