The new Vice-Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, J. Kumar, is mulling introducing an academic bank of credits (ABC) to support students taking courses across institutions.
“The university has many affiliated colleges in the city. So, if possible, we can quickly try to support students who wish to take one course in one institution and carry the credit on to ABC and then, at a convenient time, take another course from another institution. It will take some time as there is a process to go through like the academic council,” he says.
He wants to promote a degree in Fine Arts as is being done by Ashoka University. “If a student joining BA literature believes it has to be clubbed with commerce or economics, he or she can take a course and then accordingly take total credits and thereby claim a degree in BA Fine Arts,” he says.
The Choice-Based Credit System currently offers four electives and often, if some electives do not have faculty, the student is left with no choice but to take electives that are offered. “We could widen this. I will have to consult people and take a call,” he adds.
He is considering introducing online programmes to complement the strong language studies the university offers. “IIT-Madras has been able to offer online programmes in stock exchange. They have six or seven programmes. Such programmes could be offered to the students to increase their employment potential. In addition, they (MKU) have a strong literature group – they offer M.Phil programme in French and Indian languages. They can be asked to coordinate the programme on stock exchange so that the students can take an optional elective of two languages. The students can proficiently transform apps into other languages,” he adds.
He is impressed with the science faculty’s research, particularly Biotechnology Department. “We have to nurture them. But there are many not interested in submitting project proposals and get funds. We have to motivate them essentially,” Mr. Kumar says.
He is aware of the huge financial crunch at the university and is looking for suggestions to raise the affiliation fee. “Most of the universities in the State have higher fee structures. But it will not bridge the gap of the huge deficit given the payout in terms of pensions. It cannot be solved overnight,” he adds.
