PU yet to fully implement choice-based credit system despite impending NAAC visit

With the next round of the NAAC accreditation this year, majority of the Panjab University’s teaching departments are functioning without the choice-based credit system

With the next round of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation this year, majority of the Panjab University’s teaching departments are functioning without the choice-based credit system (CBCS).

PU’s inability to implement the choice-based credit system could impact its NAAC rating. (HT File)

Except for some departments, mostly from sciences, the varsity has not fully implemented the CBCS. The University Grants Commission (UGC) had introduced the CBCS in 2015 to allow “seamless mobility” across higher education institutions and transfer of credit earned by students.

Although the steps were taken to implement the system a few years back, PU still has not implemented it fully.

The CBCS allows students to choose inter-disciplinary, intra-disciplinary courses, skill-oriented papers (even from other disciplines according to their learning needs, interests and aptitude).

Notably, the NAAC team in its last visit to PU in 2015 had also observed that CBCS has not been introduced in PU, which has around 80 teaching departments on campus. The varsity’s inability to carry out the implementation may affect its rating.

Issue raised during last senate meeting

The issue was also raised during the last meeting of PU senate and it was observed by a few senate members that efforts should be made to implement the system fully in the varsity campus.

History department’s Priyatosh Sharma, who raised the issue in the last senate, said PU is already lagging behind in implementing CBCS system across all departments and the pandemic has significantly caused the delay.

“Besides contributing highly towards NAAC and other rankings, the CBCS ensures both inter and intra-disciplinary mobility of students and also equip them with better knowledge tools with a continuous grading system rather than mere three hours examination towards the end of the semester,” he said.

Another varsity professor also said the varsity has partially implemented the system so far, but the lack of faculty is one of the reasons that university has not been able to implement it fully.

PU’s dean university instruction Renu Vig, who took charge on Wednesday, said that for all the science departments running BSc (Hons) CBCS was implemented from session 2016-17 and for BA (Hons) in economics, CBCS was approved for implementation from academic session 2016-17.

“CBCS for MSc under the framework of Honours School System was approved from academic session 2019-20. Efforts are being made for implementation of CBCS in remaining departments as well,” she said.