The restructured undergraduate programme of Bangalore University (BU), with the choice-based credit system (CBCS), cannot be compared with the four year undergraduate programme (FYUP) of Delhi University (DU), maintained Vice-Chancellor B. Thimme Gowda.
Speaking during a meeting of the academic council on Tuesday, the VC said BU is not tampering with the existing three-year structure. “We are making value additions and making it more flexible,” he said. His clarification comes in the backdrop of a raging controversy involving the FYUP of DU.
Rejected Refusing to call BU’s programme a four-year course, Prof Gowda said the varsity is offering students multiple exit options — end the second year with an associate degree, the third year with a bachelor’s degree. “For students, who exit after the first year of the postgraduate course (fourth year), an honour’s degree will be awarded,” Prof. Gowda said.
In other words, in the restructured programme, the first year of the postgraduate programme will serve as the fourth year of the undergraduate course.
Updated syllabi The council approved the revised syllabi for the Faculty of Arts, Science and Commerce for the academic year 2014-15 to coincide with the implementation of the restructured programme for undergraduate courses.
Prof. Gowda said students will have to compulsorily study two subjects in the first two semesters as earlier, but the two subjects (apart from the core subjects) have been modified. These are Environment Science and Public Health (instead of Environment Science) and Indian Constitution and Human Rights (instead of Indian Constitution).
The other subject – Computer Applications and Information Technology (earlier called Computer Fundamentals) – will be made optional in the second year. Extra-curricular activities, including NSS, NCC, Information Technology, dance and music, etc will also fetch credits.
Meanwhile, reports of the local inquiry committees (LICs) that inspected 63 B.Ed colleges were accepted by the council. Fifty-four requests for renewal of affiliation for 2014-15 were approved while seven out of nine applications for fresh affiliation were approved. Two three-member monitoring committees, one each for B.Ed colleges and other colleges, will be constituted to make surprise visits to ensure that the information provided by colleges during LIC inspections is true.
