The Central University of Bihar (CUB)’s new courses have found few takers. Worse still, a few failed to draw even a single student.

Nobody took admission to MA in Hindi and political science and international relations, leaving all the 20 seats in each course vacant. Only three have enrolled for MA in English and just one for sociology. Twenty seats were up for grabs in each course. Of the 20 seats in economics MA, fifteen are vacant.

From the 2012 academic session, CUB would launch seven new courses — including life science, economics, English, Hindi, political science and international relations, sociology and MTech in computer science. The classes in the new session would start on August 21.

Of the seven courses to be introduced, only one has no room. All the 15 seats of MTech in computer science have been filled up.

CUB registrar Mohammed Nehal said students appeared uninterested in humanities and social science subjects. “The low turnout of students in humanities and social science subjects is not confined to only CUB. This is a trend almost in every institution. Premier institutions across the country have few students in languages.”

He attributed the poor response to delayed session of the state-run universities also.

Nehal in the CUB’s admission process starts in March according to Central Universities’ Common Entrance Test (CUCET) schedule. By the time the state universities declare the final-year graduation examination results, the admission process in the CUB gets over.

The admission process in the CUB usually starts in the first week of April this year. The last date for submitting applications forms is in April end.

The entrance examination is conducted in mid-June and students have to take admission by mid-July.

In the state universities, the graduation final year examination starts in mid-March and continues till May. The results are declared in June-end, making it virtually impossible for the Bihar students to apply for admission to the CUB.

Not just the CUB. The state-run universities also find few takers in language papers. Students prefer to opt for job-oriented courses, said Nehal.

Nehal’s observation appears to be spot-on. Few students opt for language courses even in Patna University.

Amar Kumar Singh, the head of the Patna University’s postgraduate Hindi department, said: “Fifty per cent of seats in Hindi in colleges under Patna University remain vacant.”

Singh said the scene in other language papers like Maithili, Sanskrit and Urdu is poorer. There are only seven students and two teachers in the postgraduate department of Maithili.

A Patna University student said: “The language courses are not popular among students because the career avenue is narrow. Science subjects find more takers because of the range of career options they offer.”

The CUB presents a mirror image. Seats remain vacant in humanities and social science subjects. Science subjects having high employment chances are in demand.

In bioinformatics, 18 students have taken admission. There are total 20 seats.

Twenty seats were up for grabs in environmental science. Of them, only one is vacant.

In biotechnology, all the 20 seats have been filled. All the 20 seats in MSc in computer science have been filled up.

Nehal said: “These science subjects have high employability factor and students even go for research in these subjects.”

However, of the 20 seats in mathematics, seven are vacant.

Media studies appeared popular among students. Seventeen students have taken admission in it. Three seats are still vacant.

Nehal said: “The demand for social science subjects having bright career prospects was high. Nineteen students have taken admission to development studies this year, thanks to good placement record of previous batches.”

The CUB started fun- ctioning in 2009. It was launched with two-year masters degree course in development studies.

Students have to take CUCET for admission to the CUB. The CUCET test comprises two papers.

The first paper carries 35 per cent marks and consists of questions from general studies, general awareness, general aptitude and analytical ability. The second paper carrying 65 marks is subject-specific. It is also objective in nature.

At present, CUB offers 16 courses. Of them, 16 are MA/MSc programmes. It also offers MTech in computer science.

New plan

The CUB is planning to start MPhil and PhD programmes. The CUB academic council has approved them, sources said.