Colleges, students yet to pick up MU’s off-beat programmes
Recently, the academic council (AC) of the MU introduced 14 new UG and PG programmes for students, most focusing on research and industry trends
Mumbai Recently, the academic council (AC) of the University of Mumbai introduced 14 new UG and PG courses, most focusing on research and industry trends with the inclusion of sports management and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Data Science. While the courses go far beyond the regular sectors by tapping into the latest industry trends, many colleges feel that students might not opt for them right away.
“Many courses recently approved by the AC can’t be degree programmes because they are application-based and for a student to pick such a course for a bachelors degree, they need some background or understanding of the course in advance. Instead of implementing UG and PG programmes in these subjects, most colleges are opting for certificate courses so as to give students a general idea of the topic at hand and then prepare them to practically apply what they learnt,” said Hemlata Bagla, principal of K C College, Churchgate.
After repeated reminders, MU did not release data on the number of affiliated colleges implementing the existing self-financed courses offered through various departments.
The last few programmes introduced by the university in the past decade include a BSc in Hospitality Studies and a BA in Culinary Arts, self-financed courses including BCom in Accounting Finance (BAF) and Banking Insurance (BBI) or BA in Mass Media Communication and Journalism (BAMMCJ).
As of now, only a handful of MU-affiliated colleges have opted for the courses. Many pointed out that since there already are hospitality institutes with ready set up of a kitchen and culinary stalwarts offering degrees within the city, not many colleges would opt to offer BA in Culinary Arts. “The BSc Hospitality Studies course has slowly picked up demand, thanks to the demand for tourism management across the world and over the last few years, more colleges have applied for the same and the existing ones have applied for additional divisions,” said a spokesperson for the university.
“These courses were introduced at a time when the industry was calling for fresh graduates with more than just accounts skills but with management skills as well. The media industry was booming too and BMM gave wings to many hopefuls who were dreaming of a future in the media and public relations industry. At present, most new courses seem to be forced with very little thought. Plus, very niche programmes automatically means colleges struggle to find appropriate faculty for the same,” said a former AC member of the university. He added that instead of adding new programmes in research fields, the AC should focus on introducing more courses in finance, management and accounts for undergraduate students.
In 2019, the university made news for introducing a host of diploma/certificate courses in new-age topics including Hip Hop Studies, Data Science as well as Urban and Regional Planning among others. However, till date, only a handful of colleges have applied to offer such courses to their students.
“One of the biggest problems in the academic council at present is that meetings are being held online still, so discussions are not welcome. The recent approval of the new courses was also done despite objection by many members but because the meeting was held on a virtual platform, our voices were not given heed,” said a senior member from the MU academic council.
Experts have also pointed out the high attrition rate among faculty in self-financed. “Many colleges have consistently paid their teachers very poorly which has led to vacancies in faculty positions. This has also led to colleges applying for closure of certain self-financed courses in rural Maharashtra,” said Madhu Paranjape, General Secretary, Bombay University and College Teachers Union (BUCTU).