The Ranchi University (RU) will adopt Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) from the new session this year. In a recent meeting, conducted with all college principals it has been unanimously decided that all the 15 constituent colleges under RU will adopt the system.
The university’s Academic Council has already given consent to implement the new credit system. The university has planned to organize seminar on May 13 to diverse information and guide the university officials and other resource personnel on different facets of CBCS. From each constituent college four members will participate in the seminar.
The significant purposes of the introduction of the scheme are mainly to provide opportunity to all the students to choose courses or subjects within a programme, as against the mostly fixed set of subjects now being offered except for the limited choice of electives or modules in professional degrees and postgraduate programmes with the flexibility to complete the programme by earning the required number of credits at a pace decided by the students.
The responsibility to design subjects in different module has been given to the Board of Studies members for all the courses. “The deadline to draft the courses till May 20 has been fixed. All the courses will be designed as per the set norms of UGC for CBCS. Keeping the three core benefits which include uniformity in syllabus at par with other universities, mobility and flexibility, the courses is being prepared. For honours 140 credits has been fixed while for pass courses 120 credits have been decided,” informed, Dr. BK Sinha, Associate Professor, SS Memorial College, a constituent unit of RU.
CBCS will be implemented only in Undergraduate (UG) programme, Post graduate (PG) programme and pass courses. Presently, the vocational courses will not be included in the system. “Vocational courses will be included later in the process, however, the team is working on the professional courses too,” added Sinha.
However, several constrains too are involved in the process and might create hindrance in implementing CBCS. “Presence of proper infrastructure including trained faculty members is key requirements for applying the system. After 2008, none of the teachers have been appointed in any colleges under RU,” stated, NSUI student leader, Tanuj Khatri.
University officials too feel that infrastructural enhancement and improving human resources are basic requisites for CBCS procedure. “We need to start the process with the existing infrastructure and human resources, to maintain the pattern with other universities. Moreover, the university is keen to enhance all the basic requirements and will cater to the need of students in the coming days,” said Sinha.
Nevertheless, at the same time, flexibility is needed for merging the structure of the programme by the institutions concerned to suit local educational needs.
If the procedure is implemented in a planned approach, the grading pattern will be changed along with the courses name. Courses will cover fours section which includes discipline specific, generic specific, skill development and communication as a compulsory paper.