Choice Based Credit System: The Need of the Hour

What is “Choice Based Credit System”?

This is a budding question in the minds of every student seeking admission in university of delhi.Recently, University Grants Commision(UGC) came up with a program called Choice Based Credit System. It is a flexible system of learning. All Undergraduate Programmes offered by the University shall be under Choice Based Credit System Credit System (CBCS).The choice based credit system provides a ‘cafeteria’ type approach in which the students can take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

This is to enhance the quality and mobility of the students within and between the Universities in the country and abroad.The University Grants Commission (UGC) has initiated several measures to bring efficiency and excellence in the Higher Education System of the country.The UGC has formulated various regulations and guidelines from time to time to improve the higher education system. The academic reforms recommended by the UGC in the recent past have led to overall improvement in the higher education system. However, due to lot of diversity in the system of higher education, there are multiple approaches followed by universities towards examination, evaluation and grading system. The CBCS provides choice for students to select from the prescribed courses (core, elective or minor or soft skill courses).

AIM OF “CBCS” :

To evolve a higher education system that is suitably blended with provision for knowledge values and skill practice where every student learns in without sacrificing his/her creativity.

OBJECTIVES :

• To introduce Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) at Undergraduate level

• Development of Curricula that would facilitate student centric learning

• Examination Reforms

• Administrative Reforms

All of the above objectives have an aim to transform teaching learning processes in academics- a transformation where students change from being passive listeners of knowledge to becoming active participants of the knowledge imbibing process.

ELEMENTS:

Following are the elements of “CBCS” :

• Semester system

• Credit system

• Grading

• While the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all the

Universities across the country are about to set up a Working Group of senior members to develop a time bound action plan to implement Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and Credit Framework for Skill Development (CFSD). , Delhi University is yet to direct its colleges,maintaining that it is “awaiting instructions from the Commission”.

With the admission process to DU’s undergraduate courses for 2015-2016 session week, the colleges are in a quandary about whether they should prepare the syllabus, timetables and do workload assessment as per the needs and requirements of CBCS or continue with the earlier system. Along with that there has been a big confusion among candidates seeking admission in undergraduate programmes as well. To end this confusion DU’s Executive Council (EC) had on Thursday passed the proposal for the implementation of CBCS, thereby clearing a major legal hurdle.

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