MU colleges set to begin semester 12 days earlier

The decision was taken by the university academic council and is one of a series of measures to ensure colleges have 90 days of teaching in each semester.

Students and teachers of University of Mumbai (MU)-affiliated non-professional degree colleges will get a shorter summer vacation as the new academic year 2019-20 will begin 12 days earlier, on June 6.

Students and teachers of University of Mumbai (MU)-affiliated non-professional degree colleges will get a shorter summer vacation as the new academic year 2019-20 will begin 12 days earlier, on June 6.

The decision was taken by the university academic council and is one of a series of measures to ensure colleges have 90 days of teaching in each semester.

The university academic council on Friday approved the academic calendar for the next year. The overall vacation period comprises 70 days and includes six holidays for Ganeshotsav. The first term for arts, science and commerce courses will extend from June 6 to October 24, with a total of 108 working days of which 90 are for teaching and 18 are for exams, said a university official. “We have a limited number of working days available in the first term, as the term is constrained by Diwali vacations. If we continue the term during the festive season, the students won’t turn up for classes,” said the official. The second term has 130 working days between November 15 and May 2.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) requires each semester have a 90-day teaching period. MU has struggled to fulfill this requirement since 2016, with delays in assessment aggravating the problem. Examinations have also spilled over past vacations in recent years. This year, many of the summer examinations were postponed due to ongoing general elections, extending terms by almost a month, from end-April to end-May. From the academic year 2019-20, the university has also decided to allow colleges to conduct first and second-year exams and restrict itself to third-year examinations. This is expected to help with scheduling, said the MU official.