Taking a step ahead in the implementation of the choice-based credit system (SBCS), Panjab University (PU), in principle agreed to put it into practice from the academic session starting in 2016.
The decision was taken on Sunday at the syndicate meeting headed by the vice-chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover.
Dean college development council (DCDC) Naval Kishore said, “We had already decided that CBCS will be implemented in all the colleges from the next academic session, as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. Now, we need to have workshops and seminars so that the colleges can learn to adopt the system as early as possible.”
JS Raghu, principal of the post graduate government college, Sector 11, said, “The CBCS will altogether be a new system not only for the staff but for the students as well. Though it is a good initiative, we will need dedicated infrastructure for the same. There will hick-ups initially but it will be sorted out with time.”
Mani Bedi principal of the Post Graduate Government College for girls, Sector 46, while welcoming the initiative, said, “The new system will benefit the students a lot. This system is functional in some parts of the country and is very popular in foreign universities. The current situation is that students usually change their fields after graduating from a particular subject because of lack of interest but with this system, they will have a choice to explore any subject out of their field of choice.”
{{/usCountry}}Mani Bedi principal of the Post Graduate Government College for girls, Sector 46, while welcoming the initiative, said, “The new system will benefit the students a lot. This system is functional in some parts of the country and is very popular in foreign universities. The current situation is that students usually change their fields after graduating from a particular subject because of lack of interest but with this system, they will have a choice to explore any subject out of their field of choice.”
{{/usCountry}}“Now it will depend on the university what subjects adds in the curriculum, otherwise for the existing subjects, we have adequate staff,” she added.
The committee that had been constituted to look into the modalities of the system will frame the curriculum.
What is ‘choice-based credit system’ (CBCS)
The choice based credit system provides a ‘cafeteria’ type approach in which students can take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning. It provides choice for students to select courses of their own choice referred to as core, elective or minor or soft skill.