Educational institutions in the country's IT capital are now introducing an innovative course in pure science.
The immediate reason: the number of students showing interest in joining traditional science courses at the under-graduate level is declining due to lack of recognition for the existing courses in many western countries, lack of research-oriented training and unattractive syllabus.
A four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) course is the new creation of academicians to attract youngsters to science courses.
Bangalore University is introducing a four-year Bachelor of Science (BS) course, which will have a blend of core science and interdisciplinary subjects, from the academic year 2010-11 in three of the colleges affiliated to it.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) is opening its portal to undergraduate courses with the introduction of a similar four-year BS programme, which is not only designed to offer specialisation in a science stream but also gives exposure to engineering and social science disciplines, from the academic year 2011-12.
Stating that Bangalore University is the first in the country to introduce this kind of a course, its Vice-Chancellor Prabhu Dev says that the new course has been designed to match international standards and gives an exposure to the divergent disciplines from a holistic approach.
Assistance
The university has taken the assistance of the Indian Academy of Sciences (Bangalore), the Indian National Science Academy (New Delhi) and the National Academy of Sciences, India (Allahabad) in this initiative.
The BS course syllabus, prepared by senior faculty members of the University after analysing the syllabus of over 25 reputed international education institutions, aims at readying the students to take up research in fundamental science as well as inculcating communication skills in them.
While Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology will be the major subjects, the syllabus also includes Indian languages such as Kannada, Hindi and Sanskrit, French as a foreign language apart from English, and subjects like Communication Skills, Indian Constitution, Environmental Studies and Computer Fundamentals.
Languages and non-major subjects will be part of the syllabus till the fourth semester.
The students can also choose allied subjects, suitable to their major subjects, from the fifth to the seventh semester.
Allied subjects to be offered are: Material Science, Basic Electronics, Atmospheric Science, Electronics Instrumentation, Spectroscopic Techniques and Applications, Biophysics, Environmental Chemistry or Industrial Chemistry, Medicinal Organic Chemistry or Natural Product Chemistry, Applied Electrochemistry or Chemistry of Materials, Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Biology in health, agriculture and industry, Bioinstrumentation and Biotechnology.
The university will shortly admit 20 students for the course to be offered at its Jnana Bharathi campus. Apart from offering the course on its campus, the university is allowing three affiliated colleges — National College, Basavanagudi; Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College, Malleswaram; and KLE Society's Nijalingappa College, Rajajinagar, to admit 20 students each for the course.
