Basic realities cannot be ignored

THE PROPOSAL for a dual-degree scheme deserves to be warmly welcomed as a necessary change in the structure of the UG courses being offered at the liberal arts and science colleges, particularly in Tamil Nadu where only a single major degree is in vogue.

Universities in many states already offer the double/triple major scheme with acknowledged benefits to the beneficiary student community.

It has been reported that the UGC has constituted a 15-member panel under the Chairmanship of Dr. M. Anandakrishnan, Vice- Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) (The Hindu, April 19). It is also seen that the committee proposes to finalise its report and submit the same to the UGC for its approval.

Since the concept of dual-degree, as it has been framed, has far reaching implications not only on the future of the student community pursuing collegiate education, but on the growth of the higher educational system itself, it is both necessary and desirable that the matter be open to rational scrutiny and further debate, not only in closeted academic circles but by all enlightened sections of society including the parent community and the students themselves.

This article seeks to bring out the major demerits while proposing a realistic and practicable alternative that will protect academic standards and be in the larger interest of the student community pursuing higher education in arts and science colleges within the State.

A dual-degree scheme circulated by TANSCHE through the affiliating Universities in December 2000 has already been debated at length by academic experts, educational administrators and member colleges of our Association at the meetings held in Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and Coimbatore, where over 250 member colleges have unanimously rejected the TANSCHE formula as not only unrealistic but detrimental to the interests of the student community and the very existence of courses offered by the arts and science colleges.

If the proposed UGC constituted panel is finalising a pattern/structure similar to the already circulated TANSCHE model, then there is cause for serious apprehension that adoption of such a model by the UGC will totally undermine the credibility of the proposed dual-degree and also seriously retard the future development of basic sciences and humanities because of the misplaced priority given to Information Technology/computer courses, to the exclusion and eclipse of other disciplines.

Major objectionable features

*The TANSCHE scheme aims at increasing the duration of study from the existing 3 years to 4 years. Inspite of increasing the period of study for an undergraduate course by one full year, surprisingly the number of hours allotted for the major subjects along with the supporting ancillary has been substantially diluted from 2220 hours to 1620 hours resulting in a drastic reduction of 600 learning hours in the major subject.

*A student opting for the dual-degree wishing to exit with a single degree after completing 3 years of study will stand totally deprived with no proficiency or skill either in the academic or vocational side on account of the watered down syllabus and acquiring less subject knowledge than a student pursuing the same degree under the existing 3-year course. If he opts to pursue post-graduate studies or appear for competitive exams, the dual-degree student will invariably put up a miserable performance because of his poor subject knowledge, resulting from the diluted dual-degree.

*Under this proposed 4-year study scheme, even after spending an additional year of study to secure a job-oriented degree, the student gets lesser exposure in the major and supporting ancillary subjects which thoroughly weaken his academic skills.

*The apportionment of hours for a dual-degree has not met the basic academic requirement of protecting even the existing hours of study provided for the major and supporting subjects in the 3- year course, although the duration of study has been extended by one full year from 3 to 4 years.

*The basic sciences and humanities have already suffered a great deal of neglect on account of the failure of various University Boards of Studies to update the curricula in line with the developments in terms of both knowledge and skill taking place from time to time.

The role of computer knowledge in science and humanity disciplines should be restricted to imparting functional computer literacy/end-user skills aimed at enabling the student to use computers in widening his expertise in the "parent discipline." The dogmatic superimposition of information technology or computer science as a second degree, unmindful of the multi- disciplinary/synergic relationship, will only cause irreparable damage to the study of the already neglected disciplines in science and humanities.

*The dual-degree scheme has been constructed to cover a longer 4- year period of study with no scope provided for vertical mobility of the student to the post-graduate courses. The scheme is silent about any restructuring of the PG courses.

The scheme prepared under the reported Chairmanship of the UGC panel and headed by the Vice-Chairman, TANSCHE seems to have been designed to accommodate (and perpetuate) the 5-day working week presently adopted by all Universities in Tamil Nadu.

It will overturn the wisely worked out and academically productive practice of a 6-day working week adopted by the universities and colleges in other States following the UGC guidelines and only help in reverting those colleges already working 40 hours in a 6-day week, to the Tamil Nadu pattern of 25 hours in a calendar week.

TANSCHE also seems to have succumbed to pressure from the teacher associations to avoid any scheme that can lead to the introduction of a 6-day working week with 40 college working hours. The Government need not have any apprehensions of additional financial liability devolving on it arising from staff requirements to man the additional 15 working hours, since this will be taken care of by the college managements concerned.

The neighbouring States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have reorganised their working schedule to fall in line with the UGC recommended pattern of a 6-day working week with 7 hours per day. Tamil Nadu alone persists with its 5-day working week resulting in consequent repeated failure to even fulfil the minimum stipulated 180 working days in an academic year.

Any reform in the UG courses should not be at the cost of the already suffering student community but should be aimed at enhancing the academic standing and credibility of courses offered by the arts and science colleges to match international standards. There is also a fundamental misconception in certain academic circles that the UGC norm of working for a minimum of 180 days means and implies working for a mandatory 180 days only in an academic year and colleges working for more number of days are unnecessarily taxing the academics. The UGC norm is intended to stipulate the minimum and not to lay down a maximum.

Alternative suggestions

The following alternative suggestions fully address and eliminate all the objectionable features of the dual-degree scheme circulated by TANSCHE.

*Instead of a dual-degree, the ideal alternative with a maximum benefit to the student would be to introduce a double-major degree within the existing 3-year period of study in all the universities in Tamil Nadu.

*The double-major degree can be easily implemented by merging the ancillaries with the major/s. As regards the required number of hours for study, it will be necessary for the UGC to uniformly enforce the 6-day working week in all the universities and colleges of Tamil Nadu with a 7-hour working day from Monday to Fridays and a 5-hour working day on Saturdays. The timings during weekdays will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

*The teaching community should have no objection to such a student-centred reform since there will not be any increase in the per-teacher workload of 16 contact/teaching hours per week. The UGC stipulation of 16 teaching hours along with 24 consultation/guidance hours can be easily and directly achieved through this working system. Presently the pattern followed in Tamil Nadu allows for only 25 college hours with 5 hours per day spread over 5 days in the calendar week. The remaining 15 hours, which subtly remain outside the scope of academic duties contrary to the UGC guidelines, can be usefully employed without being detrimental to the teaching community and to the advantage of the student community. Heavily invested infrastructural facilities and academic resources are used barely for 5 hours every day and remain idle for two weekend holidays every week. Even well- developed countries of the West cannot afford the luxury of such colossal wastage of scarce infrastructural and academic resources.

*The additional 15 college working hours available per week will help the colleges secure an additional 900 hours during a 3-year period and this will take care of the study requirements of the 2nd major subject. It will also provide for a functional computer skill course for non-computer science major students, giving them "end-user skills" while also taking care of the foundation course to equip students for competitive exams, in addition to providing for moral education and ethical values - all within a 3-year period of study.

*The double-major degree will not dilute the scope and content of the major subject as is proposed in the dual-degree scheme of TANSCHE, but serves to strengthen the student with multi- disciplinary skills, render him more fit for employment and equip him better to sit for the civil services/competitive exams.

*As part of redesigning the UG course, we may introduce a 4-year course in select specialised disciplines like computer science and biotechnology which represents the fastest growing areas currently at the National and International level. The 4-year degree course in biotechnology and information technology can be designated either as a postgraduate diploma course or as a B.Sc./Honors degree, thereby placing the liberal arts and science colleges on par with the professional college students in terms of eligibility to go abroad for higher studies. A majority of the Indian students going abroad for higher education belong to the information technology or biotechnology streams and therefore it will be adequate if we restrict the 4-year extended UG course to these two streams only. In order to ensure continuity of studies at the PG level within India, the MCA programme may be restructured by reducing it to a 2-year PG degree for students qualifying under the 4-year dual degree, duly providing lateral entry into the II year of the PG course under the biotechnology stream so as to restrict the total duration of study for the PG degree to 5-years as at present.

It is important to recognise public expectations from the higher educational system and also admit that educational institutions enjoy the solitary privilege of being a vacation department with an assured clear 90 days holiday every year.

The TANSCHE formula is likely to be rejected by the student community, the educational administrators as well as the employers, since it is clear that the knowledge and skill imparted through the proposed dual-degree is far inferior to what can be obtained under the existing system. We are also seriously concerned that any approval accorded by the UGC for the TANSCHE- based model envisaging an increase of one year in the duration of study along with a simultaneous reduction in the allotment of study hours for the major and supporting subjects of the dual degree will cause irreparable damage to the very credibility of all UG courses offered by the liberal arts and science colleges in the country.

At a time when higher education must be geared to meet the challenges of the knowledge era, it is rather distressing to find policy makers have a clouded vision on the type, direction and speed of reforms that are so badly needed. Consequently, the past two decades has turned out to be "an era of lost opportunities".

Many of the existing maladies in the educational system, particularly in higher education, is attributable to the lack of consultation with educational administrators and college managements by the policy makers.

It is high time this lacuna is set right by providing adequate representation to the college managements in the policy making bodies like the Syndicate of all Universities and Higher Education Councils of the State. In the light of the oft-repeated position that the Central/State Government can no longer increase their commitment to higher education, private college managements have come forward to shoulder the burden and have an impressive record of contribution to higher education through the much preferred `Self Finance Courses' attracting a larger number of students every year. These basic realities cannot be ignored when chartering future reform, since all the stakeholders have a role to implement the changes in a desirable manner.

The University Grants Commission must intervene and bring about a fresh rethinking on the whole matter so that the double-degree can be introduced instead of the dual degree retaining the period of study to 3 years in the larger interests of the student community. May wiser counsel prevail so that all is well on the higher education front.

M. ARUCHAMI

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