Date:07/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/07/stories/2008040759171200.htm

Tamil Nadu

Choice Based Credit system to be announced on April 25

Shastry V. Mallady

MADURAI: The Government will make a formal announcement on the introduction of Choice Based Credit System in all arts and science colleges in the Assembly on April 25.

A final round of meeting with the principals of all autonomous colleges will be held in Chennai on April 22. Thereafter, Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy will submit details of the system, which will become mandatory from 2008-09.

Official sources in the Collegiate Education Department here told The Hindu on Sunday that colleges could issue admission prospectus for the coming academic year after the announcement.

After several rounds of meetings with academics, faculty, students and teachers’ unions, higher education authorities have made necessary changes to the system and have instructed the Regional Joint Directors of Collegiate Education to prepare faculty and students for it.

A. Ramasamy, Vice-Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education, said the meeting with the principals of autonomous colleges would help to iron out variations in assessment marks and make the implementation of the system uniform. The Government was particular that a student must have an option for easy mobility between universities.

V. Swaminathan, Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education, said Bharathidasan University and the University of Madras were preparing syllabus for some electives. The instruction was that “once the Minister makes an announcement in the Assembly, all colleges must act swiftly for implementation,” he said.

Officials said the Council had met nearly 300 students of government and private colleges to seek their views.