Under the credit-based ch-oice system, a common syllabus was made in the name of standardisation, leaving no space for dissent, which eventually ten-ds to hamper the academic autonomy of the universit
Under the credit-based ch-oice system, a common syllabus was made in the name of standardisation, leaving no space for dissent, which eventually ten-ds to hamper the academic autonomy of the university.
According to the UGC, CBCS allows †seamless mobility†of students across higher education institutions and transfer of credits earned by the students. However, there have been no guidelines about evaluation based on †credits,†especially any clarity whether grading under the system would be relative or absolute.
For this system to work, credit allocation needs to be uniform. If units of credit are different, the process of the transfer of a student from one college to the other will not be possible or even if it is, it will not be fair. Ambedkar Uni-versity has credit-based choice system and grading system since its inception. Jamia University has introduced credit-based choice system, but without the grading system. And Jawaharlal Nehru University has not adopted it yet. Then what kind of standardisation are we talking about
†If all the universities across the country are going to offer the same thing, then what is the point of shifting from one to another †asks Riddhima Singh, a student of Christ University, Bangalore.
Also, apart from a common syllabus, standardisation should also be achieved in terms of faculty, libraries, laboratories, and other such facilities. †Standardising syllabi without taking into account the huge diversity in geographical, socio-economic, linguistic and educational infrastructure is counterproductive,†says Duta president Nandita Narain.
Not everybody is unhappy with the system. Struggling with umpteen doubts regarding the system, some students like a few of its aspects. For example, the courses in CBCS are better than the foundation courses in four-year undergraduate programme, which were very elementary for college students.
Also, the students can now choose and study a subject of their interest.
However, the students do not have much †choice†as not every course is available in all the colleges. And eventually, the students are compelled to choose from a selected few, which might not be of interest. †I could not get the subject I wished to study because college gave only five subject choices and my subject wasn’t in the list,†says Sanchita, a B.A. English student from Maitreyi College. Every year, thousands of students take admission in DU with the numbers increasing every year. And now with the CBCS making the proposal that students can shift from one university to another, there will be more students who would want to study here because of its reputation and the kind of exposure that a city like Delhi would provide.
However, most of the colleges lack infrastructure — both physical and organisational — to cater to such a large population of students.
The students study in cramped classrooms, and are sometimes forced to stand during lectures.
Also, the Delhi University has a very high bar for admissions. Any potential student needs to score exceptionally well in their board examinations to get admission to the university. Now with the †seamless mobility†that the CBCS proposes to offer, students from any other state can get admitted here. †That’s obviously unfair because there should be common criteria for the admissions,†says Istuti, an English (Hons) student.
†Delhi University is not what it was. First semesterisation, then FYUP and now CBCS, so much has changed in the last few years and nobody was and is ready for these changes,†says another professor from DU, who wishes not to be named. To this, Ms Narain adds, †A return to the annual system is a must if any quality education is to be imparted. Oxford, Cambridge and London have refused to adopt the semester system till date.â€
Education is increasingly been politicised in our country.
†Every political party wants to increase or maintain the holding over educational institutes to prepare its groundings. As we say, nip the bud at the very beginning,†says Ankit Pathak from Amity law school. However, Ms Narain says, †The opposition to these policy changes is near unanimous among teachers and cuts across political lines.â€
