The verdict is in, but it is staggered. Though Mumbai University’s management council on Wednesday decided to implement the credit-based system from this academic year, departments which are not ready have been allowed to put it into force from next year.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

“The first phase will involve creating awareness and training programmes for principals, teachers and student representatives. Phase-II will include the actual implementation of the credit system for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes from 2011-12, starting from the first year of the degree programme,” the university said. . But those departments which are already prepared can introduce credits this year itself.

Ruby Maloni, a management council member, said the decision was unanimous. “There will be orientation workshops and training sessions to ensure stakeholders are prepared. The new system will be teacher and student-friendly,” she said.

A university official said that since the academic year has already begun, it was decided that introduction of a new system should not be hasty. “Training is an integral part of implementation. It should be systematic so that students benefit, and are not unnecessarily stressed. Faculty members had also written to the university requesting it to postpone the implementation to next year,” said the official.

Colleges have welcomed the move. “We follow a system of term one and two, which will now become semester one and two. Since the credit system attaches 40% weightage to projects, we will have to work out the project aspect now. A credit system is always welcome as it’s accepted everywhere. It gives fair assessment to the students,” said Indu Shahani, principal of HR College.

However, many faculty members said that the system drawn up is faulty and that the university should address it at the soonest. “The system proposed by the university is based on 100 credits.

However, the UGC (University Grants Commission) requirement for a master’s level course is 64 credits. Some departments (economics, sociology and chemistry) are already running a credit system based on 72 credits,” said Neeraj Hatekar, executive committee member, University of Mumbai Academic Staff Association (Umasa). “Lack of uniformity will hamper interdisciplinary studies,” said Hatekar.

Faculty members also pointed out that many university departments are short-staffed, which could limit their ability to run the credit system effectively.