Despite strong opposition from the teachers’ unions of a few central universities, the government looks determined to introduce the semester system in universities by 2011-12. Under the system, students will have to take examinations twice a year.
The semester system will reduce burden on students is what the government claims. “The Planning Commission has asked for universalisation of semester system. While it has been made mandatory for new universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked the existing ones to introduce it within two years. The system is good as it will ensure continuous evaluation of students,” human resource development minister Kapil Sibal said in Parliament.
The Union minister further said that the semester system will not only rid students of examination stress, but also allow them greater interaction with their teachers.
Sibal clarified that since universities are autonomous bodies, the government would adopt a policy of persuasion instead of compulsion to introduce the system.
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