> When I ask, they often respond with, "Sorry, I am not able to find time for it."
Clearly they're able to find time to come to class and tell you this, so if you think that completing the assignments is more important, you can flip the classroom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom and have them do practical coding during class while assigning reading material or videos covering the theoretical lectures as homework. (Which the students obviously won't be able to find time for.)
Clearly they're able to find time to come to class and tell you this, so if you think that completing the assignments is more important, you can flip the classroom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom and have them do practical coding during class while assigning reading material or videos covering the theoretical lectures as homework. (Which the students obviously won't be able to find time for.)