Four-year graduation wins academics’ nod

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Starting 2013, Delhi University will add another academic year to its existing three-year undergraduate course. The courses are likely to be structured in a way that even if a student opts out before completing four years, either a diploma or a lesser degree will be awarded. Educationists in the city feel that the move will have many benefits for students.
“I think this would be a good radical change and change our focus on the benefits of knowledge,” feels Dr Chandra Nisha Singh.
“The move has some obvious benefits where higher education will become interdisciplinary in nature but at the same time you have the time to learn a core area/skill to facilitate the idea of finding a career. It would be ideal if it is eclectic in nature in the first year and then finally leads to specialisation in the chosen subjects. I think that can be enriching for students,” adds Anubha Yadav, assistant professor, Kamala Nehru College.
For students who want to explore new subjects and the world around them, it will add to the way they look at the world. “It will widen the scope of their possibilities, so that they can later decide what exactly it is they want to do, not because they have to do it but because they like it. It will give space for experimentation. Simply put, it allows for trial and error,” says educationist Shamik Chakravarty.
Like engineering, medicine, biotechnology, dentistry and other paramedical courses, a four-year undergraduate degree will enable students to have a better understanding of the subject, plus they will be qualified for specialised jobs.
“I feel higher education serves a much larger purpose than finding a job — it makes careers. If one only wants a skill-oriented job, I guess one can enroll for various courses already available. One does an undergraduate degree for more than just a job, not that jobs are not important, they are a crucial aspect of education and learning, but not the only aspect. Having said that, I must add that the proposal if executed properly will aid in the enrichment of a student in disciplines which were otherwise an impossibility to study,” says Anubha.
However, with the implementation of the proposal, a student pusuing post-graduation will have to put in one extra year before being specialised. “PG should be the time to superspecialise. In the first place, a three year honours course doesn’t really get a student into their subject or give them anything more than a superficial understanding of it. So the added year should be very useful and essential,” suggests Shamik.
Another suggestion comes from Dr Chandra, who advises that one way could be to reduce a year at school level. “Go back to 11 year pattern and use it in the four year programme,” she says.
So are there any drawbacks of this move? Apart from the practical aspects of systematising quality education in the Indian context, many are worried about the resources a system like this will expect from colleges.
“The colleges are still coping with semester system. I hope we can consolidate those changes and then herald another change of such a massive proportion,” sums up Anubha.