NITs to Follow Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)?

Budding techies and managers can look forward to choice-based credit system (CBCS) being introduced in 31 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), including Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), Allahabad. The new system will provide flexibility to students to pursue a course at their own pace, albeit within the maximum time limit of the programme. It will also facilitate them to take up additional courses, both within the discipline and inter-disciplinary, along with the required ones. The University grants Commission (UGC) has already asked all the universities and colleges to embrace CBCS and now the top body of all NITs - NIT Council - is also considering the recommendations made by its CBCS committee for its implementation in NITs. 

The recommendations will now be sent to all NITs for consideration. The decision in this regard was taken at the 6th meeting of the standing committee of the Council of NITs held in New Delhi on September 22. The issue was also discussed at the NIT Council meeting held in the national capital on October 1 which was chaired by HRD minister Smriti Irani where the challenges were also discussed. The move comes at a time when higher education institutions are moving from conventional annual system to semester system. Many institutions have already introduced choice-based credit system. The semester system, it is now well-established, accelerates the teaching-learning process and enables vertical and horizontal mobility in learning. 

"In principle, the credit-based semester system is great as it provides flexibility in designing curriculum and assigning credits based on the course content and hours of teaching. The CBCS also provides a 'cafeteria- type' approach in which the students can take courses of their choice, undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning. It is desirable that all higher educational institutions move to CBCS but there are issues that still need to be worked out, especially at individual NIT level," said MNNIT director P Chakrabarti.

Source: HT Varanasi