Delhi University (DU) is expected to implement the Meta College concept on a pilot basis from July this year. This proposal is part of the Meta Universities initiative of the HRD Ministry. The new concept allows students to mix and match courses from the options available across DU.
Students will thus not be restricted to study the courses available in one college or even in one discipline. For example, a student can choose a combination of a major from humanities in one college and a pure commerce subject from another college. Students will be awarded a fixed number of credits in a four-year course.
Most students, like Dhruv Diwan, Maths (H), first year, Acharya Narendra Dev College, DU are excited about the prospect. “I really wonder why the concept didn’t start during my time. If it had I would definitely have registered for it. I used to dislike chemistry but economics was my cup of tea. If I had the option of such a course, I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity,” he says, adding, “Education today needs to be based on a student’s interests and must be seamless, across colleges, universities, real or virtual space.”
Talking of real and virtual education, the Meta College concept is also a combination of online teaching and real-time classrooms.
Initially, the concept will be offered to a small number of students interested in experimenting with their syllabi. The vision is also to build a global network of learning where institutes of academic excellence are linked by broadband.
“The concept will not only be an out-of-the-box idea for students — who can pick the subjects they are confident of excelling in — but also for the faculty. It will lead students to the best courses delivered by the best faculty, anywhere in the university. It is also an opportunity for a teacher to grow beyond his/her college to be known to university students at large. The idea will make students and teachers come together,” says former vice chancellor, GGSIPU, Professor K.K. Aggarwal.
Academicians such as Aggarwal believe that the success of the system depends on the willingness of students. “To begin with, I see only five to 10 per cent of students taking advantage of the thought, but going ahead, the system will deliver on more than one front,” he adds.
Though acknowledging the positives the system offers, Priya Verma, another first year student from DU, believes it could be tough for the first batch initially. “A student may have to commute a lot for lectures. Besides, I am not sure how the credits will be accepted by employers eventually. But all these are teething problems. It’s super that the Indian education system is going the MIT way,” she says.