Delhi University Under-Graduate Course Reforms

 

                                                               Delhi University Course Reforms

Delhi University has taken the first few steps to open up the study streams at the undergraduate courses. This is a welcome reform though much overdue. The introduction of semester exams to replace the annual had taken place a couple of years back. There are still glitches in its implementation and they have to be sorted out.

The basic principle governing semester system is the wide choice of courses offered to the student during his/her 4-year study at the undergraduate level. It is good that after the introduction of the semester system, DU has gone in for a 4 year degree course offering a bouquet of courses for the student to choose for his Honours degree. S/he can opt for cessation of study at the end of the second year and get an Associate degree or at the end of three years to get a baccalaureate degree. The University has to arrive at new nomenclatures for these intermediate degrees as it intends to do away with the existing degrees like B.A, BSc and B.com. After all a

After all a degree is a degree and as Shakespeare says

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

The question is how does the new nomenclature enhance the essence or spirit of learning?  What is the rationale in awarding an Associate or a baccalaureate degree unless they form a part of the minimum eligibility criteria to get a job? Just because USA, China, Australia, Brazil and Pakistan have similar models, should we adopt it as well? Has any study been done with reference to job opportunities for students with intermediate degrees? What happens to the existing well structured course like B.El.Ed ? With a deficit of 12 lakh teachers for the RTI to be fully implemented, can the University afford to do away with the present teacher training courses?

As per the new structure, there are to be application courses The University says that a student pursuing Physics and Chemistry for Discipline I and Discipline II courses can opt for Sociology or Literature as application courses. Sounds good, but the question is can Literature and Sociology come under the rubric ‘application course’? Normally we hear about web application courses, computer application course, design application course, Applied Psychology course, Mobile application development course etc- courses that give hands on training and practical skill to make students employable. Literature and Sociology are disciplines that do not subscribe to application courses. If one reads it right, these application courses are only for the first two years –or four semesters. Isn’t the University letting out young men and women with an Associate or a Baccalaureate degree (after six semesters) without any employable skills just as it is doing today with a three year BA/BSc/B.Com programmes? At least in the present case with a three year degree the students can go for post-graduation while the new system limits post-graduation to those who complete a 4-year programme.

The introduction of foundation courses cutting across all disciplines is an excellent idea. This will definitely contribute to a wholesome development of mind and awareness. It is worth considering introduction of one foreign language as a Foundation course. It will be ideal if language courses (incuding English and Modern Indian language) are spread over two years rather than limited to the first year. A minimum of two years is required to get a feel of the language and a feel for the language, leave aside learning vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. The compulsory foundation courses on English and Indian modern language at the university level begs the question with regard to the minimum standard of proficiency among entrants to college. The foundation course in English that exists currently in Delhi University is almost at the elementary level of learning and is way below university standards. Can a premier University bring down the standard to such an abysmally low level?

The list of foundation courses includes an assorted variety such as courses on environment and health, communication skills, mathematical ability, IT, Science and Life etc. What is the mechanism by which the students will be tested in these courses?  Communication skills, IT, mathematical ability are more in the line of application courses raising two fundamental questions as to what defines Foundation course and what learning curves do they trace at the undergraduate level? Foundation course is a bridge course relating to particular Special Course Requirements of the undergraduate degree course that students intend to seek admission in. For example, if students intend to apply for the Bachelor of Engineering course, they would be expected to follow Foundation study-units in Physics and Mathematics.  These study-units will enable students to prepare for the content and level of the degree course in Engineering. The University’s claim that these courses will bring an overall personality development of the student is like wishing horses for courses.

The University states that the classes for UG students are going to be increased as they have 11 Foundation(F) and 5 Applied courses(A) besides 2 discipline courses(DI and DII i.e.16-20 discipline papers in four years) to study. On an average this works out to a minimum of 20 papers per year (11F +3A+3DI+3DII) which will translate into at least 60 classes per week( i.e. if 2 lectures and one tutorial/practical classes per paper constitute the norm). The college works for 6 days for the students and this means every student attends a minimum of 10 classes or 10 hours per day. Is there any time left for the student self study, library work and extra reading?  If Delhi University seeks parity of standard with US Universities, it should allow more time for students to do library work and to assimilate whatever is said in the class. Otherwise the system will make students more like school students with no time for self development. The research papers that are mandatory for a first degree will remain a copy and paste affair from the internet. Even the existing level of learning may become a distant possibility for the students with the overloaded class lectures.

Then comes the most important principle behind semester system which is CBCS- Choice based Credit system. The students through the new combined course are given the opportunity to choose courses for adding to their credits. This means the flexibility to change colleges where courses of one’s choice are offered.  Has Delhi University given the green signal to colleges to offer varied courses? Even if colleges come forward with new courses, the curriculum, structure and course texts have to be approved by the Academic Council before they can be introduced. The other big question is whether colleges have space to accommodate students from other colleges for one or two semesters in addition to their existing strength. The most difficult question is will the colleges accept students from other colleges and what should be the eligibility requirement? Will the elite colleges accept students from non-elite colleges or will they resort to barter whereby the elite colleges will accept a First divisioner from non-elite colleges provided the latter absorbs their second or third divisioners. Overarching all these questions is where are the teachers to be found for these different Foundation courses?

Again if two Disciplines are to be taken for a Honours degree, the student should be permitted to do his/her post graduation in any one of them. Delhi University has limited this option to Discipline I which makes a travesty of pursuing Discipline II. The Associate degree should be dispensed with and the Baccalaureate degree at the end of third year is to be awarded after sufficient skill training is given under the rubric of application courses.

The writer is not against the makeover that Delhi University is attempting.  But sufficient groundwork has not been done. It is essential to train college teachers in inter-disciplinary understanding for at least six months to teach Foundation courses. It will not be a bad idea if an Indian Education Service is established and training is given in a holistic learning atmosphere. Till such time we have a good number of trained teachers in colleges, it would be better to introduce compulsory lectures called “Great Book Series” where scholars from different disciplines will give lectures on seminal works relating to their disciplines to help students understand all the Best that has been said and written in the world. Starting from Kautilya’s Arthasastra to Amartya Sen’s Capability Theory, from the Gita to the Bible to Koran and to other sacred books, from Aryabatta to Einstein to Fritzof Capra, from the Indian epics to the Greek epics to world literature, from Indian history to World History etc, these lectures are to be spread through one whole year and form the basis of Foundation courses. Students can sign for them and attend them in any college as they should be Open lectures and when they are back in their respective colleges , they should choose two books from two different disciplines per semester and make both oral and written presentations on which they will be evaluated . Disciplines I and II can be the students’ choice at the end of the first year’s Foundation study.

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A beginning has been made. A thing well begun is half done. But to have it fully done, a little focused thinking has to be bestowed on three basic questions: (a) the rationale behind introduction of new UG courses  (b) what are its objectives and what benefits will accrue from that change and (c) how to implement the proposed change that would enhance learning while serving as a gateway for employment. Hope Delhi University, the Ministry of HRD and the UGC put their heads together to work on what is going to be a change maker in Indian higher education. The imminent need of the hour is to hasten slowly with the contemplated changes

   

                                                             

                                                        

If Winter comes, can spring be far behind?

                                       If Winter comes, can spring be far behind?

The last two weeks have been a traumatic period for every self respecting and thinking Indian as s/he recalls the exemplary courage of “Nirbhaya’, the 23 year old young woman countering a brutal savage assault on her human dignity as a woman. In her we recognize a rare mixture of wisdom, strength, courage and fearlessness that have made her a venerable household name in the country. Her death signing off 2012 marks the rising of a resurgent India in 2013, dedicating itself to the safety, security and rightful place for women in our society.  The New Year Eve was truly a celebration of the strength of EVE, the progenitor of the human race.

The rape incident followed by corporeal brutality inflicted on the young woman has galvanized the entire nation into a unanimous cry for honour and justice to all women who had been undone by masculine venereal lust for the female body. The spontaneous protests and outrage against the perpetrators of this reprehensible crime took the government by surprise. How did this happen? The viral transmission of the outrage over what had happened brought thousands of young men and women on the social media platform to work out strategies to express their anguish and anger. The power of the twitter revolution is infinitely stronger than all other forms of revolution including the electronic and the print media and the government was caught unawares at the surge of raw emotions evidenced in the capital.  The speedy arrest of the criminals and the promise by the government to fast track the rape case hardly made a dent among the twitter revolutionaries. The rising of the educated middle class in unison revealed that its power was stronger than that of people in power. This is the new age digital revolution that started with Tahir square inbEgypt and spread like wild fire to Libya and Syria against dictatorial oligarchs. It has the power to harness thousands of people to merge on a single platform to voice forth their dissent, discontent and disillusionment. India also has had its share of Tahir square revolution  with Anna Hazare’s movement for Jan Lokpal, but what was witnessed during this one fortnight was a spontaneous upsurge of the youth’s angst over the brutality meted out to a young brave woman.

Even though the Government set up J.S.Verma Commission to recommend the much needed amendment to the existing laws on sexual assaults and a task force to review safety of women besides assurances to expedite rape cases and ensuring safe travel by public transport, the protesters are not letting down their vigil –an eerie sign of distrust of the government in power. The present agitation is apolitical but has contours of repudiation of democratic process in its urgency to press for its own agenda that is often mired in strong emotions to the exclusion of reason and understanding.  The twitter revolution spreads fast like wild fire specially if there is police bashing and government bashing. The tweets -unlike the blogs- with their 140 character limitation can hurl charges without assigning any logic or explanation. It is a sad but true fact that humans relish listening to negative comments and twitter is the surest means of spreading rumours and even false charges. While the present twitter revolution has been for a positive cause, one dreads to imagine the fall-out of negative twitters as in the case of recent rumours that fuelled exodus of Northeastern people from our cities. Twitter is one-sided bashing and the bashed has no time to offer his/her version in defence. In the recent agitation the police high handedness has come in for severe criticism and there was no one to listen to any explanation from the law enforcing authority. Microblogging has thus its advantages to build instant solidarity among many thousands but unless there is self regulation and a determined effort not to sensationalize and instigate people, it will result in the collapse of rule of law.

Twitters have come to stay. Even blogs are slowly on the wane as the Yolo (You only live once) generation has no time to read, analyze and sift the chaff from the grain. We need sane responses against scurrilous and libelous twitters that may provoke people to insane anger and despair. Twitter is a powerful tool to build community; it can also be a powerful tool to destroy community. It has the power to absorb us; it has the power to destroy us. Who is to guide the twitters who have in their hands a double-edged sword? 

 We have witnessed the emergence of the new generation of educated young men and women. The death of Nirbhaya has given birth to an unprecedented rise of youth power in the right direction. But the anxiety lingers about the potential abuse of this power Instead of damning twitter messages- which is an infringement on the democratic right of the citizen- the government should identify young leaders, administrative officers, apolitical intellectuals, educationists, sociologists and psychologists who can connect with the youth and engage them to enter into a twitter dialogue with them and win back the lost trust of the young twitteratis. The social media unlike the print and electronic media does allow peer interaction. It is difficult for anyone beyond the charmed circle of the print and electronic media to get his/ her word heard or printed. Hence the only recourse available toordinary citizens is to twitter for social networking with all its plusses and minuses. What cannot be wished away has to be nurtured and strengthened.

It has been a traumatic Delhi winter. But as the saying goes can Delhi spring be far behind?