The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Students may get to frame syllabus

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 25, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Students may get to frame syllabus

Special Correspondent

Madras University Vice-Chancellor proposes the pioneering initiative

CHENNAI: Students may well play a part in syllabus formulation, at least for post-graduate programmes, if a pioneering proposal of the University of Madras Vice-Chancellor, S. Ramachandran, gets the nod of the university's administrative bodies.

"The present statutes of the university do not now allow students in the Board of Studies, which formulates the syllabus and curriculum. But the statutes do allow special invitees to sit on the Board, a provision that I plan to use for soliciting student inputs," says Prof. Ramachandran.

In an informal chat with reporters, he said, "When we revisit the syllabus the next time, I think students should be part of the activity. A few of them may come up with some brilliant ideas."

Initially, the toppers in under-graduation will be a part of the team formulating first year post graduation syllabus. Similarly, the first year's toppers will be roped in to prepare the second year syllabus, he added. "But I do not want to stop students' involvement with that. They will help in evaluation of the present syllabus and content, and the way they are transacted in class. Let the students tell us whether the present content they learn is readable... the feedback can be used for evaluation and review," he added.

"I think so far the fear of taking the risk only stopped the universities from doing this, or perhaps it was conservatism. But I believe that students can make good contribution to the way we teach them and they learn the syllabus," Prof. Ramachandran added.

For starters, he plans to select 30 students and include them in the Boards of Studies as special invitees.

Prof. Ramachandran said he also proposed to involve parents. They may be from the academia or the industry, but keen on participating in the syllabus making. He will soon send advisory to the self-financing and private colleges to include the students and parents in the teaching and learning processes.

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