JK govt sets up panel for adopting semester system in colleges

Jammu and Kashmir government has set up a 12-member panel of experts in order to work out the modalities for adopting 'Semester System' and 'Choice Based Credit System' in colleges of the state.
"In order to work out the modalities for adopting Semester System and Choice Based Credit System in Colleges, State government has constituted a 12 member Committee of officials", an official spokesman said today.
The panel has senior officials of education department and administrative staff of universities, colleges and schools.
Several professional and technical institutions in the country have already adopted semester system which is working satisfactorily, he said.

The Kashmir and Jammu Universities have also adopted semester system at the post-graduate level, spokesman said adding most of the institutions of Higher education in Western Europe and North America also follow a semester based system.
It has been felt that examination conducted at the end of the year has limitations in assessing the capacity of students. There is a tendency among the students to skip major portion of the syllabi and course and concentrate on only certain topics to pass the examination, he said.

The spokesman said that often the annual examination leads to insensitive cramming up of superficial information and examination only at the end of academic session or year, more often than not, insulates students from the quest of knowledge, the excitement of discovery and the joy of learning.

In order to disseminate the knowledge and involve students in the overall learning process, it is felt necessary to shift the traditional conduct of examination to 'Choice Based Credit System'.
This system is divided into three segments, lectures in the classes, tutorials and laboratory work. In case of subjects not involving practical's, the dissertation or project work is prescribed, he said.
It is right time that semester system is made mandatory for all the institutions. As such, to begin with, it is proposed to introduce semester system at the undergraduate level at the degree colleges.
Meanwhile, all stakeholders and general public may give feedback and suggestions on this subject to the committee set up for this purpose. The suggestions shall be considered by the committee before making recommendations, he said.