The Hindu : Academics favour semester system in varsities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 06, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mysore

Academics favour semester system in varsities

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, FEB. 5. Experts and academics have said that pursuit of academic excellence should take precedence over administrative issues in universities and institutions of learning.

They stated this at the UGC-sponsored three-day workshop on "semester system and autonomy for colleges" for college principals organised here by the Academic Staff College, the University of Mysore, today.

J. Shashidhar Prasad, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said that there was resistance to the semester system from various quarters and the reason given was administrative problems.

Prof. Prasad wondered if pursuit of academic excellence or introduction of innovative schemes should be sacrificed at the altar of administrative problems and issues that could be sorted out through discussions and streamlining the functioning.

On the introduction of the semester system and the resistance to it, Prof. Prasad said that a section of teachers opposed it on the ground that the "workload would increase" or due to "lack of staff''. But it was imperative to introduce innovations to improve the skills of students who graduated from universities and institutions of learning so that they could be employed in the fast changing world.

Expressing his disenchantment over the annual system, the Vice-Chancellor said that skill development was possible in the semester system with constant monitoring of students. But under the annual scheme, it was a test of memory and information distilled was never translated into knowledge or for practical application.

On the advantages of autonomy to colleges, Prof. Prasad said that such institutions could devise and design new courses suitable to industries in consultation with experts and strive for excellence. In this context, he referred to Ivy League institutions and colleges in the U.S. that were among the most sought after by students and employers. This was possible due the flexibility that autonomy provided.

He said the universities did not enjoy the flexibility to design new courses and cater to the job requirement of the market and it was here the autonomous colleges enjoyed a distinct advantage and could build on their reputation. In this context, he cited the example of a postgraduate course offered by a college in Madurai. Students of the course were in great demand but the same course offered by Madurai Kamaraj University was reckoned to be lacking in standards, he added.

C.D. Narasimhaiah, Director of Dhvanyaloka, cited examples of how decision-makers could be innovative within the framework and limitations under which they functioned. The objective of the workshop was to underline the advantages of the semester system over the annual system and impress upon the decision-makers the need to change.

The distinct advantage of the semester system was that it provided an opportunity to students for continuous learning, assessment and deep understanding of the subjects; better examination; and greater involvement of teachers and students throughout the year. Likewise, the objectives of autonomy were to allow such institutions a greater freedom to determine its own course of study and syllabi, prescribe rules for admission in consonance with the reservation policy of the Government, evolve methods of assessments of students' work, conduct examinations and notification of results, and use modern tools of educational technology to achieve higher standards and greater creativity, he said.

Principals and heads of 35 colleges affiliated to Mysore, Mangalore, Bangalore, and Kuvempu universities are attending the workshop.

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