Choice Based Credit System for Bachelor Degree Programme in Davanagere University: An Overview
Mrs. Sujatha .K.S
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Sri Manjunathaswamy First Grade college
Saraswathi Nagar, Nittuvalli,Davanagere-577004
Mobile:9481503717
Email:srssujatha8@gmail.com
Abstract:
Education provides a platform to students and teachers to acquire the knowledge, skill, value and believes. Curriculum links both students and teachers in their teaching-learning processes. Teacher is a mediator between curriculum and students. An effort is made in this paper on an overview of Choice Based Credit System for Bachelor Degree Programme in Davanagere University.
Key Words: Curriculum, Curriculum Development, Choice Based Credit System(CBCS).
Introduction:
Curriculum is fundamental to the teaching and learning processes and its various components have wide-ranging consequences on the quality of education. Curriculum is need of updating. To ensure student success and development, we need our curriculum to be relevant and meaningful. Curriculum must design with a focus on competencies literacy and numeracy grounded in subject content. This paper identifies how Davanagere University adopted Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) Curriculum in Academic Year 2016-17.
What is Curriculum?
The term curriculum refers to the lessons and academic content taught in a school or college in specific course or programme.
John FranklineBobbit’s ‘The Curriculum” published in 1918. According to him the word “Curriculum” began as a Latin word which means “a race” or “the course of a race”
Curriculum is used in several meanings. There are also a number of definitions of the term, curriculum.
David G. Armstrong defines "Curriculum is a master plan for selecting content and organizing learning experiences for the purpose of changing and developing learners' behaviors and insights."
Peter F. Oliva defines, "Curriculum is a program, a plan, content, and learning experiences."
Therefore a Curriculum is more than putting together a set of academically required subjects. It must consider all aspects of the student life. At the Under Graduate level, individual university and autonomous college administrations and faculties sometimes mandate curriculum, because of increasing specialization and depth in the student’s major field of study. Let us have a glance at Davanagere University Under-Graduate Curriculum and its Design.
About Davanagere University:
Davanagere University is one of the youngest universities in Karnataka State. It has jurisdiction of two district and head-quartered at Davanagere. Davanagere University was established on 18th August 2009 by being carved out of Kuvempu University with a purpose to meet the educational needs of the people of this region. The University has 112 colleges affiliated to it in total, with one constituent college & one autonomous college, offering Graduates and Post-graduates programme in various disciplines catering to the educational needs of more than Sixty Thousand students. It is located at Tholahunase 11 Kms from Davanagere.
The Role of Curriculum in Davanagere University:
A Curriculum is considered the “heart” of any learning institution which means that university cannot exist without a curriculum. The curriculum has to ensure that students are learning knowledge and skills necessary to work in our rapid changing field. In many cases, individual universities design and develop their own curriculum, often refining and improving them over years.
The process of Davanagere University Curriculum is framing and preparation of Text Book be decentralized so as to increase teacher’s involvement in these tasks.. Generally, the faculty members have the responsibility and authority to make the decisions about the curriculum. The faculty of a university or department that fundamentally drive the process of curriculum design and maintenance. To design Curriculum is a big task but to get overall development students need curriculum.
Curriculum development process changes according to the need of the society. It includes several stages such as planning, preparing, designing, development, implementing, evaluating, revising and improving. According to the needs of updating every universities adopting new curriculum.
Choice-Based Credit System (Semester Scheme) :
The Karnataka State Higher Education Council follows the general guidelines which were guided by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi. It guided for the adoption of uniform Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) across all the Universities in the country and asked the university to implement them in all the Under Graduate and Post-Graduate Programmes.
In the emerging scenario of globalization of Indian Higher Education, it is imperative that the universities should followed this system so that the mobility of their graduates both within and across the geographical jurisdiction become possible. Hence, the Davangagere University introduces the Choice-Based Credit Systems (Semester Scheme) in its Under-Graduate programmes in the faculties of Arts, Science and Commerce with effect from the academic year 2016-17.
For the multi-faceted development of students, curriculum focuses on wide variety of course to enhance their knowledge in several core courses including those in languages and subjects in Arts, Science, Commerce and Value Based and Skill development Courses. The subject of study includes Core, Non-Core and skill development courses.
The following table shows the Skills Development Courses for B.A/B.Sc/B.Com etc. (all six semester) in Davanagere University.
Non-Core Courses (Common for all Courses)
|
Semester |
B.A/BSW |
B.Sc./BCA/BSA |
B.Com/BBM |
|
I |
Constitution of India |
Constitution of India |
Constitution of India |
|
II |
Environmental Science |
Environmental Science |
Environmental Science |
|
III |
General Science and Management |
Social Science and Management |
General Science and Management |
|
IV |
Computer Application |
Computer Application |
Computer Application |
|
Skill Development Course |
|||
|
V |
Soft Skills/Life Skills/Personality Development-I |
||
|
VI |
Soft Skills/Life Skills/Personality Development-2 |
||
In this curriculum students will get more skills which are very essential for the global world. This caters the requirement of students. It provides flexibility and comfort for all kinds of learners. Students can choose their courses and timing, they can get an opportunity to build on their strengths and fill the knowledge gaps.
Conclusion:
It is true that curriculum requires to be restructured regularly. The newly restructured CBCS at Under Graduate level, in Davanagere University an unpredicted autonomy is provided to the students can opt for a more focused curriculum, based on their choice of subject and additional skill development. A student will graduate on the choice of his subject and mode of his study. The curriculum chosen by the student will go on to determine the shape of his career. A curriculum prepares an individual with the knowledge to be successful, confident and responsible citizen.
Reference: