moving to voluntary attendance

Image via WikipediaIndian Institute of ManagementTwo articles, both rather negative,  about the Indian Institute of Management's recent decision to allow voluntary attendance:

Class Act: IIM-Bangalore’s voluntary class attendance policy is making other b-schools uncomfortable. | PaGaLGuY.com:

"IIM Bangalore’s recent decision to make student attendance in classrooms optional is raising a lot of questions. Are Indian students at the post graduate level mature enough to come to class without the whip of compulsory attendance? Will they use or misuse the freedom that they are being entrusted with? And can such deviation from the norm take place in only some of India’s most elitist institutions?"

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore makes major changes in Attendance and Summer Internship Rules | College Information: 

"In a dramatic move, the management of India’s premier management institute, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore has decided to make the attendance in all its courses voluntary. This move may sound a little absurd but many experts are of the view that post-graduate students are mature enough to decide whether they want to attend a particular course or not. If this move was introduced at undergraduate level, it could have a negative impact as students are too young to understand their responsibilities. The move will also give the institute an idea of how students discipline themselves." 

In Europe for generations, attendance was not compulsory at the university level. The tutorial system was used by Oxford and Cambridge (supervisions) and student met with professors to focus on the work at hand.  German universities in the high Victorian age were noted for their lack of required attendance at classes.  Even today, they are more relaxed than most,  unlike the large extended high schools that universities become today.