HPU puts ball in pvt colleges’ court

Jaswinder Singh Baidwan

Akhran da mureed
Staff member
Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) has given an opportunity to private BEd colleges to submit their choice on adopting “semester” or “annual” system by December 23. It implies that there will be two examinations for students of the same course and the same batch, who would be awarded separate degrees.
Vice Chancellor ADN Bajpai has exercised his discretion to allow private BEd colleges to come up with their decision soon. The examination schedule will be announced by the university accordingly, a HPU spokesperson said.
The decision is fallout of the “abject failure” of the state government and the university to regulate admissions as per schedule and start classes immediately in all colleges. Consequently, the condition of mandatory 100-day teaching in one semester was not met in many colleges.
Instead of adhering to the admission schedule and maintaining the quality of teacher education, the government has been keen on filling 5,500 seats in private BEd colleges. It repeatedly relaxed the norms and admission process remained open ended till the second week of December. In such a situation, the colleges were not in a position to fulfil the condition of minimum 100-day teaching in semester under any circumstances.
The 2015-16 BEd sessions in the Department of Education and Government BEd College, Dharamsala, commenced in August following a proper channel. The examinations of these students would be held under the semester system.
However, the students who got late admissions in private colleges would be given a choice to be admitted in annual system or directly to the second semester in the colleges opting for semester system.
The students who choose semester system would appear for the first semester only after completing the fourth semester, sources in the university said. The examinations of colleges, opting for annual system, would be held along with students enrolled under the International Centre for Distance Education and Open Learning (ICDEOL).
The move of the university has taken the students and staff of the university by surprise. They see more trouble as the university has failed to declare the result of the first semester of undergraduate courses under RUSA in time.
The delay in declaration of results of the first semester was inordinate and complete results could not be declared even after the examinations of second and third semesters were conducted. As such, holding two examinations for BEd courses would be a huge task for the examination branch, reeling under pressure of work, sources in HPU said.
 
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