Does Absenteeism Affect Academic Performance Among Undergraduate Medical Students? Evidence From “Rashid Latif Medical College (RLMC).”

BACKGROUND: Despite the strictness in attendance policies, absenteeism is an important current issue among medical and health sciences that affects the performance of undergraduate students worldwide. Attending lectures is the key to reaping the rewards of academic achievements in undergraduate medical students. As attendance pattern and performance go hand in hand– the physical engagement of students in the classroom and practical teaching approach have a synergistic impact on the output of lower-performing students to do their best. METHODS: A total of 404 full-time undergraduate MBBS male and female students of Rashid Latif Medical College (RLMC) of age 18 or above were included in this study. The principal outcome variable, such as class grades or performance, is the dependent variable, while absenteeism is a unique independent variable. RESULTS: Our results capture the positive and significant impact of attendance coefficient in all proxy variables of regression models but exhibit significant decline from OLS3 to OLS4 when proxy variables for ability, effort, and motivation were included. However, we found the effect disappears, when we incorporate panel data fixed effect estimators to minimize the time-invariant student-specific unobservable traits on performance. CONCLUSION: Attendance of the student is only the mandatory variable that must be monitored and regulated by corrective actions to achieve the better academic performance of the students.