Ravenshaw University in Cuttack

Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, July 1: Ravenshaw University in Cuttack will introduce a choice-based credit system as part of the varsity’s plan to overhaul the syllabi of its undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The move will come into effect from the beginning of its next academic session in August.

The choice-based credit system, which prevails in top universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, would allow students to pick the optional subjects as per their interests and aptitude, said university vice-chancellor B.C. Tripathy.

“Students can choose subjects related to their stream of studies. For instance, a student of psychology can opt for behavioural zoology or a student of literature can take up a course in linguistics. This system will provide them opportunities matching their scholastic needs and aspirations,” said Tripathy.

The university is conducting a four-day symposium titled Curricular Reforms in Higher Education on its campus to develop the system and restructure the existing syllabi. The subject experts from various top-notch institutes have been invited for the purpose. Governor M.C. Bhandare inaugurated the symposium yesterday.

“A committee consisting of eminent educators is formulating a course of studies, keeping in view the recent developments in each subject. They would discuss with the heads of different departments to review the existing syllabi and evolve a relevant curricula at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The new curricula would be at par with reputed institutes such as JNU or Delhi University,” he said.

The committee is likely to complete the task within one month. “It is high time we tuned the outdated syllabi according to the changing times, so that our students can become more competitive and crack important exams such as the National Eligibility Test (Net). Our emphasis is also on promoting research work,” Tripathy said.

However, many believe that such initiatives will not work without upgrading the infrastructure. The university has 89 lecturers against the sanctioned strength of 153 for its 25 postgraduate and 19 undergraduate departments.

A university official said efforts were on to fill up the vacancies and advertisement for the appointment of 43 lecturers, including the readers, had also been published.

“Efforts should be initiated to ensure that old knowledge is condensed at the lower level and new knowledge is expanded at the higher level as our society is now flooded with all kinds of knowledge necessary for overall development,” said Sudhesh Nangia, a former professor of JNU. Nangia said teachers must stay abreast of the new development in their respective subjects for better dissemination of knowledge needed for research projects.

“The human resource development department is keen about increasing the strength of faculty members for research in basic sciences and a number of fellowships have also been floated in this regard,” he said.