The Hindu : Front Page : Universities to decide on semester system

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Saturday, Jun 27, 2009
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Universities to decide on semester system

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Universities in the State are free to take a final decision on implementing the choice-based credit and semester system for degree courses this academic year. The government will neither ask any university to roll out the restructured degree programme this year itself nor will it discourage any varsity from implementing it this academic year, Education Minister M.A. Baby has said.

He was addressing a press conference at the end of a discussion with leaders of the Opposition here on Friday on the implementation of the restructured degree courses this academic year.

The Vice-Chancellors of the Calicut, Kannur and Sree Sankara universities and the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University later told the press conference that their universities were ready to implement the new programme. The Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University Michael Tharakan added that he would report the proceedings of Friday’s discussion to his Syndicate and if that body decided to implement the CSS this year itself, it would be done. The Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala J. Prabhash later told The Hindu that his university too was ready to go ahead with the restructured programme and that a final call would be taken immediately after consultations with the Syndicate.

The government has promised the leaders of the Opposition that it would do what is necessary to appoint adequate numbers of permanent teachers to government and aided colleges. The government is particular that the implementation of the restructured courses should not suffer for want of adequate teachers.

(UDF leaders including the Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy, Kerala Congress (M)leader K. M. Mani, CMP leader C. P. John and Kerala Congress (Jacob) leader T.M. Jacob demanded at the meeting that the implementation of the CSS programme be put off by a year.)

The Higher Education Council has for the last two years been leading efforts to restructure degree courses.

It was also decided that there would be a helpline in each university to tackle the menace of ragging. All Vice-Chancellors would meet in Ernakulam on June 29 to finalise awareness programmes on ragging.

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