The Hindu : National : Switch to semester, reduce written exams: UGC

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Switch to semester, reduce written exams: UGC

Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI: Invoking the general consensus within the university community on the need for academic reforms, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities to initiate the process as per the parameters provided in its XI Plan.

In a letter addressed to the Vice-Chancellors of all universities, UGC chairman Sukhadeo Thorat has urged them to take the lead in initiating the process of implementing academic reforms, including switching over to a semester system and a uniform academic calendar.

While suggesting these reforms, the UGC has sought to underline the fact that there is no pressure from its side on the universities to reform. Reiterating that universities are autonomous institutions, Prof. Thorat said they had the freedom to experiment with new ideas and adopt practices which they considered appropriate for promoting relevance, quality, excellence and equal access within the broad framework of the national policy.

One of the key reforms being advocated is a changeover from the annual examination system to semesters as this facilitates continuous internal assessment and reduces the written examination component. Should universities decide to move to a semester system, the UGC is of the view that the duration of each semester, the number of contact hour per paper/per semester and the relative weightage of continuous internal assessment and semester-end examination should be prescribed unambiguously.

The Commission would also like to see universities move away from marks and division system in evaluation to a grading system — preferably a 9-point scale and Cumulative Grade Point Score (CPGS) to bring the Indian evaluation system on a par with the best practices.

Calling for reforms in the admission process, the UGC’s contention is that entry to all courses should be based on past academic records of students and/or their performance in the entrance examination conducted by the university.

These entrance examinations should conform to the government policy on reservation for all categories notified for such affirmative action.

Changes have also been mooted in admission to M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes; the stress in this case being on greater transparency in the process.

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