DU stares at another showdown over implementation of CBCS
DUTA says the choice-based credit system is based on the semester system and has identical course structure as FYUP.
A year after the contentious Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) was rolled back from Delhi University, it looks like the university is all set to face another confrontation between the administration and teaching community over the implementation of the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) from the upcoming academic session.
Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) is of the view that the implementation of the credit system is being hurried without any broad based consensus. It said the CBCS is based on the semester system and has identical course structure as FYUP. DUTA has been opposed to semester system as well as FYUP since the very beginning. FYUP was later rolled back last year due to protests by students and teachers.
In DUTA has now written to staff associations of all 70 colleges asking for their feedback on the semester system and FYUP. DUTA is planning a huge protest by the end of this month against implementation of the CBCS.
"As you can see, the CBCS is nothing but another name for the structure of FYUP that we in Delhi University have experienced firsthand. Therefore, we would like you to give your feedback about both the semester system and the "choice-based" structure of FYUP," DUTA's letter letter to colleges read.
"A completely different structure is being pushed just before the start of new session. We are all going to be busy with exams. How is the university going to prepare a new syllabus in such short time? It is going to be a hasty and shoddy job like FYUP," said Abha Dev Habib, member DU Executive Council.
UGC recently sent guidelines to all Central Universities for implementation of CBCS.
"The CBCS provides a 'cafeteria'-type approach in which the 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 is desirable that the higher educational institutions move to CBCS and implement the grading system," UGC said.
Student organisations seem to be undecided on their take on introduction of the CBCS from the upcoming session. While All-India Students Association (AISA) is against implementation of the system, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students' Union of India (NSUI) said they are still taking feedback from students and will take a call once they are done with the process.
Pointing out that the syllabus has not changed for the last 30 years, a top DU official said, "teachers are in a comfort zone and do not want to come out of that zone. Semester system requires more work and that is why teachers are so against it. If you mention curriculum change then teachers are against it. We need to break this inertia," the official said on condition of anonymity.