Zoology students to have say in syllabus

In a unique initiative, students of Zoology under the University of Mumbai and its affiliated colleges will now be part of the syllabus framing committee. A few students from the committee will also be part of the Board of Studies (BoS) and play an active role in passing the new curriculum for third year BSc students for the academic year 2018-19.

Over the past few years, the Department of Zoology has been working on involving all the stakeholders — ex-students, current students, subject experts — in the process of syllabus formulation. "While subject experts have already prepared a draft syllabus, we wanted to involve students in the process as well. We conducted several sessions and workshops to understand the students' suggestions and expectations from the syllabus. A few of the students who closely engaged themselves in the process and gave good suggestions are now a part of the syllabus committee and the Board of Studies," said Dr Anita Jadhav, chairperson, BoS.

The department has also uploaded its draft curriculum on the varsity's official website inviting further suggestions. "We received some great suggestions from ex-students and several experts from across the world also chipped in which is a great sign," said Dr Vinayak Dalvie, convenor, syllabus committee.

Dr Dinesh Kamble, registrar, University of Mumbai, said that the varsity is now trying to encourage its other departments to adopt a similar model. "Students can give excellent suggestions as they are closely observing newer trends in the subject. We are encouraging all the other departments to take up similar initiatives," said Dr Kamble.