There have been arguments in the state academia whether to continue choice-based credit system despite scrapping of semester system and going back to annual examination process
With only a month to go for the next academic year, the semester system seems likely to stay as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has not yet announced its decision on the demand to scrap the system. It was after academicians brought up the issue, in the month of February, that students were not getting adequate amount of time in classrooms, that the state government wrote to UGC last month to gain clarity whether the semester system will be scrapped. UGC's decision on the same, however, is still awaited. There have been arguments in the state academia whether to continue choice-based credit system despite scrapping of semester system and going back to annual examination process.
Himanshu Pandya, Vice-Chancellor, Gujarat University (GU), said, "This was a long pending demand by students' and teachers' associations seeking an alternative to the semester system. We had earlier invited feedback from all stakeholders including vice-chancellors, principal unions, student unions, teacher unions, etc before forming a state policy. Since there is a mandate from the UGC for universities to follow the semester system to avail grant, we had to seek explanation from them. If they reply stating that the grant will also continue in the annual examination system, we will go for the same. However, till now, the decision has not come." Pandya is heading the committee appointed to look into the semester system.
Sources said the new academic year at GU will commence from June 14 and hence it is unlikely to scrap the system with effect to this year. "If the system is scrapped, students will not take studies seriously. While globally, universities are adopting modern approach, we are going orthodox by scrapping the system," a senior faculty said.
Contradicting the same, professor Bimal Solanki, Faculty of Commerce, SMPIC, GLS University, said, "It will be a great decision if we are going back to our roots. We never had a semester system and what the new system has done is given us poor quality students. In the previous system, students used to put in real hardwork to study and quality of students after the annual examination was much better than what we get today. Students in the present system do not get time to study as they are busy in submitting assignments rather than focussing on studies. To cope with this, they mug-up and not understand concepts.Semester system was a big failure."
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