DU no stranger to semester
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The implementation of the semester system in Delhi University (DU) may have generated a lot of uproar but there are courses that have been following it for long now.
The university has six courses that already adhere to the now controversial system.
"We implemented the semester system in the late 1980s and have only benefited from it," said Poonam Verma, principal, Shaheed 
Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), which has four courses with the semester system.
"The system keeps teachers and students on their toes. The course structure requires the student to present a variety of activities and projects and is holistic in nature," said Verma.
BA (Honours) Journalism and Bachelors in Mass Media and Mass Communication are the two other courses that follow the system in DU. "It is rigorous and requires a lot of work and planning," said Carmel Christie, HoD, Journalism, Kamla Nehru College.
However, detractors of the system say the syllabus would have to be diluted to accommodate minor courses and that students may suffer.
"Students will not get time to chew on what they have been taught. Also, students will not be able to participate in co-curricular activities, as they will have no time," said Harish Dhawan, principal, Ram Lal Anand College (Evening), where BA (Honours) Business Economics is taught as a semester course.
But students disagree. "The semester system never interfered with academics or co-curricular activities. About 40 per cent students in our class were active members of various societies," said Karan Sharma, a former student of SSCBS.
The semester system also helps open up various avenues for students.
"Many who studied journalism as an undergraduate course are now pursuing Masters programmes in Economics, Political Science and Sociology, as we study these subjects in our course," said Teena Jha, a former student of Lady Shri Ram College, who is now working with a media house.
DU passed the semester system proposal in June last year.
Source: HT Horizon
Date: 15th May, 2010
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