Semester hope for Presi poor show?

KOLKATA: With six students failing and 44 others unsuccessful in various subjects, Presidency University is going through a crisis, making officials concerned take note of the falling standards of the exalted institution. Taking over the reins as vice-chancellor, Amita Chatterjee is now banking on the yet-to-be introduced semester system for continuous and comprehensive evaluation to check the slide.
Chatterjee, who has taught at Jadavpur University for more than 30 years, is going all out to find out the reasons behind the "shocking" results of the college in the part-II exams.She has asked heads of departments to give her studentwise details of those who have been unsuccessful this year. In this report, the heads have to chart out the regression of the failed students since the time they entered college after cracking the tough Presidency College admission test.
"Each of the students in question is bright, otherwise s/he wouldn't have been here. I have asked the heads to tell me if their attendance was regular and, if not, what was done to bring them back to class. I also need to probe and find out why they suddenly lost interest in studies!"
Chatterjee feels that if a semester system starts and students are subjected to continuous and comprehensive evaluation, the overall performance of the varsity will improve and the failure rate arrested. "This is the way leading universities of the world function and Presidency must follow suit. However, we first need to form the academic council which will then decide if the semester system is the best for us," she added.
However, former principal of the college, Amitava Chatterjee, admitted that the case of a few students failing had become routine. "I don't think this year's results are anomalous. However, since we are now a university that is striving to inculcate academic excellence, we will have to think of better ways to help students focus better," he said.
Former teachers stressed on the decline in the quality of teaching-learning in the college since the past 25 years. Before that, failures were never heard of. "Students remain absent for days together. Is anything done to pull them up? You will be shocked to hear that a large number of teachers now just rattle off answers in the class instead of teaching the lessons! At the beginning of the year, a few questions are chosen and students mug them. Naturally, if these questions do not come in the final examinations, students will fail," said an angry Amal Mukhopadhyay, former teacher and principal.
Absenteeism is very high among students in Presidency, said former teacher and head of sociology department, Prasanta Ray. "Previously, teachers would have that personal connect with students and found out what was wrong. Even parents were contacted. But nothing of that sort happens now. Obviously, those who are wayward already will helplessly go astray.