CHANDIGARH
Panjab University (PU) will be introducing the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) and Credit Framework for Skill Development (CFSD) from the upcoming 2015-16 academic session. The CBCS enhances multi-disciplinary studies by allowing students to choose papers from different faculties.
This new scheme, which was recommended to the institutions of higher education by the University Grants Commission (UGC), will be proposed in the PU syndicate meeting on Sunday, 8 March.
Following the meeting summoned by the resource development ministry, PU vice chancellor Mr. Arun Kumar Grover received a communication from UGC chairperson Mr. Ved Prakash that proposed the introduction of this system.
State education ministers and principal secretaries (education) were a part of the meeting where a common concord of introduction of CBCS and CFSD transpired. The UGC chairperson's letter stated about the idea behind this introduction as a means to "provide wider options to students and allow their seamless mobility across institutions."
The system comprises of different fields for curriculum semesterization, modularization of syllabus as part of its restructure, examination standardization and transiting to grading system from numerical marking system.
PU is planning to have grading system in their curriculum in the near future, while its current academic session already consists of the semester system at undergraduate level.
What is CBCS?
Choice-based credit system enables students not only to choose elective papers from the courses availed by other departments but also to learn and comprehend at their own speed. An inter-disciplinary learning methodology is encouraged at its core. Guidelines have been provided by the UGC for this schema that also includes semester based examinations as well as grading system for marking rather than numbers.