Colleges struggle to complete syllabus of new courses in 6 weeks before exams

While MU officials were apprehensive about new courses being started as late as October, applications for affiliation to the varsity have been approved

At a time when most first year students are busy preparing for their semester exams, which are to begin mid-November, a handful of students are attending classes from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm in order to make up for lost time. These are colleges who got approvals from the state government to start new courses or divisions only in September. These colleges have no choice but to conduct back-to-back lectures to finish the semester’s portion in the six weeks before examinations begin.

This year, the state government approved new courses or divisions for 24 MU-affiliated colleges in August, followed by 15 more in September. (HT File Photo)

“We had applied for these courses before we started admissions for the current academic year in June, but the permission came through only in September. After that, the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the joint director’s office took time, but thankfully the university cleared affiliation for us on the same day,” said the principal of a suburban college. She added that students haven’t complained about this system as most were keen on opting for the new courses and were waiting for the approval to come through. “Almost all the new courses have a decent class strength,” she said.

This year, the state government approved new courses or divisions for 24 MU-affiliated colleges in August, followed by 15 more in September. The government resolutions stating the names of colleges make it clear that the approval stands valid only if implemented this academic year. While most colleges decided to start admissions and classes this year itself, a handful of institutes decided to introduce the new courses next year.

“We didn’t want to seek approvals all over again next year, so we started admissions this year itself. Completing the syllabus is a concern but we will do everything to ensure that students are prepared for the examinations,” said the principal of a Thane-based college that received approval in September.

While MU officials were apprehensive about new courses being started as late as October, applications for affiliation to the varsity have been approved. “Those with approvals for new divisions have started but most colleges have not opted to start new courses for this academic year. However, for colleges that submitted applications for affiliation along with an NOC from the joint director of education, we have cleared their documents on the same day,” said M A Khan, registrar, MU. He said requests for the examinations to be postponed were not entertained by the varsity.