Calcutta University has decided to reduce the number of holidays in its affiliated colleges because too many breaks were hindering completion of the syllabus for the four-year undergraduate programmes.
The university’s highest decision-making body, the syndicate, has empowered the vice-chancellor to implement the necessary changes to the university’s statutes to curtail the number of holidays.
The colleges now enjoy more than 100 holidays in a year.
The university wants to bring it down to 35 days, as it does on its campuses.
“If the holidays are not brought down, we will not be able to complete the syllabus,” vice-chancellor Ashutosh Ghosh said after the syndicate meeting on Thursday.
“In a unanimous decision, the syndicate has empowered the VC to initiate steps to complete the formalities to change the statutes to put a leash on the holiday list. Once the formalities are completed and approved by the governor and the higher education department, the colleges will be informed about the revised holiday list,” he said.
A member of the syndicate said the colleges now enjoy lengthy summer, puja and winter breaks.
Many colleges also have local holidays.
“If 100-odd days are lost, how will the exhaustive four-year undergraduate syllabus be completed? We have reports that the syllabus is incomplete in many colleges, and this is adversely impacting the teaching-learning process,” a syndicate member said.
The four-year programme was introduced in 2023 under the National Education Policy (NEP).
Representatives of the higher education department who attended the syndicate meeting also approved this initiative to curb college holidays, according to someone who attended it.
“The performance of students in the semester examinations is dipping. Students will take their studies seriously once an adequate number of classes are held,” a CU official said.
Teacher posts
The university has also decided to initiate the process of filling up vacant teaching positions, considering that 59 per cent of the 835 posts are now vacant.
The university will soon advertise the posts, registrar Debasis Das said.
“We have to examine whether we need to take permission from the state government before appointment of teachers,” Das added.
A CU official said the syndicate resolved to fill the posts “immediately”.
In some engineering departments, the teacher shortage is so acute that the university has not been able to apply for accreditation by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
NBA assesses whether the BTech programmes are being run in keeping with the standards set by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The syndicate has decided to form a committee to ensure that due process is followed in the appointment of chair professors and adjunct professors.
Research funds
Syndicate member Om Prakash Mishra said that the VC told the meeting that the Union and state governments had agreed to provide ₹35 crore under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan 2.0 scheme. “The funds will be used for research and to buy instruments. We have to spend the funds by March 31,” said VC Ghosh.