Youth are always an asset for any society or for that matter for any nation. This is the age when people are full of energy and the age when they dream, aspire and think of changing the society. Education is that one connecting link which puts in the youth the idea of responsibility and grooms him/her in a way that he/she thinks not only as an individual but in a collective sense. India in that case is at an advantage as it is projected that by 2030 37% of our nation will be under the age of 25. Now the question is how to channelize the energy of this youth in a way that the whole society is benefitted by their creative thinking and work. Here come the two visions of higher education, one which see education as an interaction between student and the teacher and the basic aim of which is to work for the overall betterment of society. And the other vision looks at education as something in which a teacher trains a student in a specific way for a specific purpose. To say in simple words one vision is meant for solving immediate problems for the market and other talks of long term issues for the society. I think we have to see the present situation in education system in this particular paradigm, through this particular lens.
The neoliberal agenda which was brought by the agents of World Bank and US imperialism in 1991 opened the gates of Indian economy for the corporate house. Though in 1980’s the process of privatization in education was started in India but for the first time UPA in its second term has made concrete plans to make education as a commodity to be sold in the global market. The ‘Semester system’ in DU is only an extension of this particular neoliberal ideology.
But have we at least tried to understand what actually ‘Semester system’ is? Have we at least attempted to study the scenario, pose questions and participate in the discussions on the semester system in the university?
“Why me??” is not the answer to the bigger forces which come into play through this small reform. Without going into the broader view, let’s analyze things, first beginning with the arguments given in favour of ‘semester system’.
The semester system offers the following -
Ø Students pursuing honors can opt up to six papers from other subjects.
Ø Evaluation of the answer scripts world be centralized, joint evaluation of scripts by 3-4 teachers, each one evaluating one or two answers of all the scripts.
Ø No further assigning of fictitious roll no., and the system of revaluation to be discontinued.
Ø For Honors courses the main papers will be 16
Ø For practical exam- two teachers of the same department same college will conduct the practical exam, monitored by a monitoring committee.
Ø 25% of the marks for internal assessment to be redistributed in the following manner.
Attendance – 10%, Assignment (at least) – 10%, Class Test - 5%
These offers are justified on the grounds that
1. The semester system is successful in various European countries and IITs.
2. It is more inter-disciplinary.
3. Students will work throughout the year rather than through periods of "leisure” and hyperactivity.
4. It will increase student-teacher interaction.
5. Semester system is in conformity with the global standards and will facilitate student’s exchange.
Real Implications of the Semester System
Let us see whether the semester system is suitable for Delhi University with over 80 colleges, Nearly 1,00,000 students, by step by step analyzing the realites & false justifications .
Rationality – There are many universities which do not follow semester system such as the Oxford, Cambridge and London school of Economics; hence excellence cannot be achieved only by semester system.
The structure and functioning of European Universities is much different as compared to DU, they have a different kind of financial setup, based on the money invested by market forces. Giving examples of NITs and & IITs doesn’t help as they are just compared to one college of D.U.
The harmonization of academic calendar through a uniform semester system across the European Union under the Bologna process has created unrest among students all over France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Croatia; it is unfortunate that such unpopular impositions become ideal examples for education planners in India.
Interdisciplinary & Course Content
The design of the system cuts down the content being covered in the major subject and hence diluting the honors program and lowering its value. Interdisciplinary courses have already been introduced and are running successfully. What is hindering the idea of interdisciplinary is the limitation that colleges face in offering large no of optionals, as a particular college offers a limited courses due to shortage of facility & infrastructure, hence if one has to study the subject (optional) of his choice, he might have to go to some another college, for that particular subject, hence this inter collegiate exchange of students seems impossible seeing the large geographical spread of the university.
Admission & examination related issues
A university where admission process goes on till September, the situation will be very scary if the examinations are held in October end, as a result a large no. of students will fail or the examination process will end in July within a short period of time, leaving many students dreaming of studying in D.U.
The way in which the examinations are conducted creates a situation in which the subject taught in the whole year will be taught in less than half of it, hence increasing the pace by which teachers cover up a subject, leaving no time for detailed explanation and no time to grasp a topic easily.
Reduced period of "LEISURE', "HYPERACTIVITY" & INCREASED INTELRATION BETWEEN STUDENT AND TEACHERS.
Due to overburdening of students, to face exams in 3 months and to finish off the subject in such a short span of time, would divert the students from their extracurricular activities such as being active members of music society, theatre group, dance group, NSS and sports, as they need time, which is termed as period of “leisure”, hence now no laurels to DU for producing world class actors,musicians & sports persons; plus the semester system will diminish an important sphere of informal interaction & involvement of many teachers and students which was earlier possible through these activities.
Centralized Checking and Results
The centralized evaluation has created a wild spread resentment as in this system the teacher gets less than two minutes for non-honors papers and around 3 min in honors to evaluate an answer, Which he/ she has written for about 40 minutes, now fair is it?? Also the student’s right to get his answers revaluated is curbed by discontinuing revaluation, in order to avoid the chaos that would have resulted due to a 1 month difference between new result and next exams. Hence we conclude that the semester system is beneficial only if it is implemented in a proper environment where admissions are completed on time, examinations held and result declared on time, result trusted and students having large no of optional to choose, else there would be a collapse of federal system of affiliating colleges in DU, by bringing in clusters of autonomous colleges with NAAC ratings.
Consequences
As the semester system is bound to fail in Delhi University so it will inevitably pave way for the argument that the university be broken up into smaller units & colleges given autonomy. This is the actual motive of ‘Semester System’, to have smaller autonomous units so that ‘private players can be pushed into education sector, in the name of raising funds. The situation in St. Stephens College is an example is well in front of us. The motive is to turn all the colleges into Islands cut-off from the real world and real struggles, so that there is no resistance for the fiancé capital to circulate freely. But of course the present scheme of semester system may be good for certain Indian students, desiring foreign trips and for some multinational entrepreneurs and universities wanting to expand their hegemony over the public system of higher education in India, it would result in excessive fee-hike in a country where 77% people earn Rs. 20 or less than that.
Ankur Goswami, KMC, DU
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