Where is the time for co-curricular activities?

Students who came to the Delhi University to be part of its famed co-curricular culture are a worried lot.

Students who came to the Delhi University to be part of its famed co-curricular culture are a worried lot.

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The proposed semesterisation of the university has brought the fate of current co-curricular activities under a cloud.

For many years now, cultural activities such as dramatics, dance, choreography and music used to kick-off towards the end of September and go on till December after which students would take their mid-term exams in January. Only a handful of college festivals used to take place after December, as this was a time to get serious about studies with exams approaching in April.

"Once the semester calendar is implemented, this system will get destabilised. There is going to be very little time left for activities as students will start preparing for exams in October itself," said Mahima Pathak, a member of the debating society at Sri Ram College for Commerce.

"Co-curricular activities are taken very seriously. Once the semester system is imposed, students will not get enough time to devote to such activities. In theatre, for example, students prepare the play till September. Only after that it is ready to be staged. Also, one can't break the performance season into parts. It affects the performance badly," said Keval Arora, who is in-charge of Players, Kirori Mal College's famous theatre group.

Even though science semester exams were postponed to January after a lot of confusion last year, students were unable to participate in other activities.

For sportspersons, the situation was worse. Inter-college competitions did not take place till March, almost six months late.