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Latest News |
| 25th
January 2010 / Times of India / Delhi Edition |
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Semesters disliked but DU is READY
TO CHANGE
Delhi University will switch to a semester system
— there will be exams every six months, and they
will all carry the same weightage — from the new
academic session in July, but teachers say this is being
done in a hurried manner
Refusing to bow to pressure from teachers, Delhi University
(DU) has decided to roll out the semester system for its
undergraduate courses from the new academic session in
July this year. It’s already been implemented in
the masters programmes.
Even as teachers claim the semester system has been implemented
hurriedly, DU authorities say 80% of course restructuring
is on and the university is well placed to implement it
from the new academic session.
In the semester system, each honours programme will comprise
24 papers of which 16 will be major papers and six will
be minor papers. One paper each will be dedicated to computer
science and language studies. There will be a 25th paper
on environmental studies, which is only a qualifying paper,
and marks obtained in it will not be counted.
While the university administration is citing the recommendations
of four prominent committees that have proposed semester
and inter-disciplinary systems in universities, opponents
say that it will play havoc with the existing course structure.
DU’s executive council member Rajib Ray said: ‘‘The
primary reason for the semester system is to encourage
interdisciplinary studies. But we already have concurrent
and inter-disciplinary courses in the honours programmes.
The new system with majorminor combination will shake
the basic framework of the honours programme. Specialization
will suffer as students will have to dedicate equal number
of hours to their minor
subjects because marks will be added to the final degree.’’
Among other concerns, Ray said a majority of third-year
students prepare for various competitive exams but under
the semester system, many of the exams will clash with
the University’s December exams. ‘‘Students
of School of Open Learning (SOL) will also have to forego
the benefits of a formal education as SOL will follow
the old system,’’ added Ray.
Departments like English, history, economics and sociology
have joined the chorus. Teachers of English department
have told vice-chancellor Deepak Pental that they won’t
be part of the team revising the syllabi.
But Pental is optimistic. He said: ‘‘Hundreds
of teachers are working on the semester system and progress
in 80% of course preparations is excellent. Change is
never accepted easily, but we will persuade our teachers
by addressing their concerns. Some departments —
like English and history — are creating a few problems.
But we are aware of both their constraints and concerns
such as internal assessment. So we are simultaneously
discussing these issues as well. DU has the country’s
best teachers and if we can’t take on the challenge
and improve the system, other universities will face bigger
hurdles.’’
Pental added the university will soon place the syllabi
before the Academic Council for approval and has urged
teachers to see merit in the new system.
Even as the semester system is just a few months away,
DU teachers are still demanding a review. Sanjay Kumar,
faculty of political science, Zakir Hussain College, said:
‘‘We are not opposing the semester system.
But it’s a completely new system for us and there
is need for an open debate to reach a consensus. It should
not be implemented in a hurried manner. The system needs
a review.’’
Agreed Ray, ‘‘Whenever the university has
done things in a hurry we have seen poor results. The
BSc programme — which was very popular a decade
ago — has been ruined. It now sees a massive failure
rate every year.’’
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