Huge demand for job-oriented courses at Mumbai University this year

Mumbai city news: So-called ‘self-financed’ courses get 80,000 more applications than traditional ones, last year they got just 15,000 more

Job-oriented or so-called ‘self-financed’ courses offered by the University of Mumbai (MU) have outpaced traditional courses yet again.

Science was the only stream in which self-financed courses received more applications than traditional ones in University of Mumbai. (HT FILE)

These courses, which include Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS), Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM), BCom (Accounting and Finance), and BSc (Information Technology), received 5.34 applications, 80,000 more than traditional BA, BCom and BSc courses. The traditional courses got 4.54 lakh applications.

Self-financed courses are so called as colleges don’t receive any grants from the government to run them.They recover the expenses by charging higher fees from students.

Last year too, self-financed courses got more applications but the difference was just 15,000. Also, science was the only stream in which self-financed courses received more applications than traditional ones.

The trend indicates a major shift in aspirations of students in the city. Ever since they were introduced in 2001, the demand for self-financed courses has been rising even though their intake is much lower and they are more expensive.

Educators say the courses give students an edge in college placements and other employment opportunities. The small class strength of 60 students against 120 in a classroom in traditional courses is another attraction. “The small classroom size ensures better interaction among students and a hands-on teaching experience,” said Usha Mukanadan, principal, Jhunjhunwala College.

Abhishek Sood, BAF coordinator at St. Andrew’s College, said it’s the marketing that attracts students. “The curriculum of specialised and traditional courses is 80% same. But these courses are packaged in such a way that students prefer them,” he said. Self-financed courses have also become more affordable as the university has not revised the fee structure for its affiliated colleges since 2008.

Educators said during admissions students tend to choose a variety of options, but they may not get admitted to self-financed courses due to their high cut-offs.