Monday, March 31, 2008
The proposed Choice-Based Credit System is broadly directed at improving skill levels and making graduates more employable

As Tamil Nadu prepares to migrate from its mark-based evaluation system to a credit-ranking system the coming academic year, students continue to wonder how different would things be for them.

On the lines of the Bharathidasan University model introduced two years ago, the State government has decided to make implementation of Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) mandatory for all arts and science colleges.


Experts welcome the system that provides for 140 credits for undergraduate courses and 90 credits for postgraduate courses as a student-centric initiative.

Some of the features of the system are: Standardisation of degree to internationally accepted levels; emphasis on job-oriented syllabi and a socially relevant system of education; scope for students to pursue skill-oriented elective subjects of their aptitude; possibility for bright students to earn more credits, and the paramount importance accorded for industry-institution collaboration.

“The main objective is to make students employable. The system will serve to bridge the gap between the job market and students’ skill levels,” S. Baskaran, Member-Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education, said recently, addressing the Academic Convention on CBCS organised by the Joint Action Council of College Teachers at Tiruchi.

Core components in the course will continue to have the same significance. The major change is in the introduction of a wide range of job-oriented electives. Students will be in a position to choose skill-based electives such as DTP and animation. The Directorate of Technical Education has extended its co-operation by offering the facilities and faculty of nearby technical institutions to the arts and science colleges to offer such programmes, said M. Ponnavaikko, vice-chancellor of Bharathidasan University.

While admitting that the transition is inevitable, teachers’ organisations continue to express apprehension on two main counts. There must be a clear-cut assurance from the government that the system would ensure teachers’ job security and students would not have to pay extra for this, according to P. Jaya Gandhi, president, Association of University Teachers.

Principals of colleges affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University are worried about the time factor, though they are unanimous in appreciating a system that recognises students as major stakeholders. “We will have a meeting of principals during April to finalise the electives. Computer-oriented papers may find favour due to job prospects,” said I. Singaram, Registrar, MKU.

The major advantage for students under CBCS will be that they can migrate to other universities in the middle of a course thanks to uniform syllabi in core subjects. According to Raja Govindasamy, principal of Thiagarajar College in Madurai, an autonomous institution already implementing choice-based system, the electives need to be offered in such a manner that they not only encourage inter-disciplinary academic pursuits but also enhance students’ competency and job prospects.

“For example, a student of English literature can be taught travel/tourism or tourism administration. Similarly, a science student may be given a choice on writing science fiction,” Dr. Raja Govindasamy explained.

Since the undergraduate admissions begin only in June, there is a confidence that modalities/syllabus can be worked out by principals during April/May.

A few autonomous colleges in Coimbatore have already been following the CBCS; but there is seemingly no uniformity in the procedure. Though the students are given a free hand to choose the elective and supportive courses, the conventional marking system is mostly followed.

Bharathiar University has been following the system for some years in its own departments. Regarding the advantages, Registrar P. Thirumalvalavan says that it is a student-friendly system. “It is flexible and students can choose the additional courses depending on their capacity. They are also allowed to choose their course teacher and timings. Students can choose the number of credits and also the number of months in which they complete the course. Everything is flexible.”
Most of all, a vital point to be noted is whether colleges have the required infrastructure for implementing the system.

Inputs from Amutha Kannan and R. Krishnamoorthy.