Universities in Gujarat can be the first in the western part of the country to offer choice-based credit system (CBCS). This will allow the students to study subjects of their choice along with the core subjects of their faculty at post-graduate and doctorate level.

Saurashtra University hopes to implement the system at the earliest, said SU Vice-Chancellor Kamlesh Joshipura.

A meeting of V-Cs of all the universities in Gujarat, education secretary and commissioner will be held at Rajkot on September 11 to discuss the matter. “It’s about widening opportunities and broadening perspective. It’s internationally accepted system. The SU will join the club of a few universities in India to adopt this system,” said Joshipura.

The fact that SU has semester and internal grading system in place will help it implement the new system from the next academic year. The state higher education department had embarked on setting up a different kind of model curriculum for which M S University’s Faculty of Education of Psychology was given Rs 10 lakh grant. Currently, the system is in force in some universities in Tamil Nadu, the IIMs and the IITs.

In the initial phase, the format for PG programmes will include core subject, basic subject and an elective subject (from a cluster). Accordingly, an English literature student can also elect Sanskrit or Journalism, Human Rights, and other subjects of his choice. The entire programme will be based on credit system. A student will be required to get around 90 credits in a subject. The credits will be awarded on the basis of the student’s attending lectures and practicals.

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