At the end of a yearlong exercise from May 2022 to April 2023, colleges across Tamil Nadu were asked to follow the syllabus framed by Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) from the current academic year. Arts and science colleges, which have admitted over 1.11 lakh students this year, would teach students according to the new syllabus, Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy said. About 75 % of the syllabus of every college should be the same, says the decree.
Initially, sporadic voices rose against what they called the imposition of the common syllabus, but the opposition became more vehement closer to the start of the academic year. A few teachers’ associations, including those that were against the revised syllabus initially, issued statements supporting it. Mr. Ponmudy regularly addressed the concerns, through meetings with Vice-Chancellors and the principals of autonomous colleges in Chennai. Yet, the opinion is divided. The opinion of those who are opposed to the uniform syllabus seems the loudest in the academic community.
Autonomy lost
The principal of a leading autonomous college in the western region said, “It is unfair to enforce a common syllabus before the release of the State Education Policy.” Colleges oppose 75% uniformity as it may affect the leverage they have enjoyed in offering the choice-based-credit system. Rigidity may hamper the choice of electives, which is the only way of infusing skills relevant to the job market. It could run counter to the intended aim and exacerbate unemployment, said a senior faculty member of a government college.
Academic freedom
P.K. Ponnuswamy, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Madras and Madurai Kamaraj University, said, “A common syllabus is a regressive move. It will be disastrous for the higher education system in general, if it also implies common question papers and examination.” Colleges would lose their academic freedom, he pointed out, wondering where was the need for universities if a common syllabus was enforced. “It is not workable,” he said.
The academic councils and boards of studies of autonomous colleges play a major role in introducing innovative subjects in consultation with experts. Healthy discussions are held, and they have liberty and freedom, said R. Murali, coordinator of Makkal Kalvi Kootiyakkam. What is the hurry when the committee tasked with writing the State Education Policy is yet to submit its report, he asked.
Tamil Nadu Government College Teachers’ Association also has reservations. Its State president P. David Livingstone said, “The syllabi of subjects, such as science, have the same lessons as those from 10-15 years ago. In zoology, for example, animals that are now banned for laboratory use are being suggested for dissection...” It is “the prerogative of universities and colleges” to review the syllabus every three years. “TANSCHE does not specify if this norm will be withdrawn when the common syllabus is implemented,” he added.
Would this prevent colleges from creating new courses to meet local needs, wondered S. Ismail Mohideen, principal and head of PG and Research, Department of Mathematics, Jamal Mohamed College, Tiruchi. Colleges may not be able to offer new programmes without TANSCHE’s approval. Also, courses approved under the direct benefit transfer Star College scheme may suffer as “students will not be able to pass muster with the 75%:25% external-internal marks ratio,” he said.
“At present, Part 1 (language, Tamil) and Part 2 (English) must be implemented according to the recent Naan Mudhalvan scheme. We duly carried out the order. On July 27, we were given a new syllabus that is very different from the earlier one. With the semester exams due to start in a few weeks, teachers and students are expected to deal with a new set of lessons at short notice,” he rued, arguing that TANSCHE “should give time to adjust to the conditions and implement it next year. Sudden changes are not conducive to learning”.
The convener of Joint Action Council of College Teachers (JAC), M. Nagarajan, believes that experts, and not the government, should decide on content development. “There are boards of studies. Each university is governed by its Act,” he pointed out. “Centralisation could result in loss of regional balance.” He said equivalence and mobility should be decided by universities as education is for liberalisation and democratisation, he said.
‘No discussions’
MUTA, an association that represents the faculty members of Madurai Kamaraj University, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Mother Teresa University and Alagappa University, believes that the move is an effort to bulldoze autonomy. “It paves the way for more threats in future from the Union government that bats for one nation, one language, one culture policy,” says Mr. Nagarajan, who is also MUTA general secretary. “There is tremendous pressure to follow 100% of this common syllabus, which is an unprecedented policy decision. It should have been framed with the involvement of subject experts and academics. Unfortunately, no such discussion was held,” he adds.
“Most of the suggested lessons for the subjects are inferior in quality. The local topics included in Tamil and English papers have been bulldozed. Literature should reflect society like a mirror and hence would vary from place to place. It cannot be part of a single twine. If this is the case, what is the need for 500 boards of studies at 13 universities? This is a precursor to ‘one nation, one language, one culture policy’,” Mr. Nagarajan alleged. He feared that the common syllabus would prevent students from pursuing research in specialised areas with an interdisciplinary approach. “TANSCHE can only be a facilitator and not a dictator. It has no overriding power,” he said.
More branches of study
Christober M. Davamani, president of the All India Association for Christian Higher Education and Principal/Secretary of American College, Madurai, however, believes that the new syllabus would help students in skill training. It is sufficient that TANSCHE has given colleges leverage to alter 25% of the syllabus. With over 300 courses in arts and science and 27 branches in B. Com alone, students have a wide choice. Institutions could choose programmes suited to local needs; at the same time, the new syllabus would give the same exposure, he pointed out.
Besides, there was an assurance from the Department of Higher Education that there would not be undue pressure. “We can follow TANSCHE for the betterment of students. After a semester or two, there may be better scope for analysis of the entire initiative,” Mr. Davamani said.
TANSCHE officials contest the argument that that there was no discussion before the syllabus was released. They insisted that colleges were involved in drafting the new syllabus. Of the 922 subject experts who participated in the exercise, 379 were from 30 autonomous colleges (23 from Chennai), and the rest from Madurai, Coimbatore and Nagercoil. Presidency College sent 43 subject experts and DG Vaishnav College sent 37. A total of 34 faculty members from Ethiraj College and 25 from Madras Christian College also participated in the exercise.
Equivalence and model syllabus
TANSCHE uses the term, ‘model syllabus’, which is aimed at eliminating the hassles of having to provide equivalence. Earlier, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, the government’s recruiting body, was entrusted with the job. Since 2019, when TANSCHE was given the power, it has received 1,247 applications for approval to the degree courses offered. A total of 20 equivalence committee meetings were held. Of the 982 government orders issued, 560 were for subjects that were equivalent to the degrees offered and 422 were not.
“Colleges offer fancy degree programmes. When candidates are appointed to government posts, their certificates come to us for verification. They would have studied just 16% of the core subject and the rest would be irrelevant,” an official explained. For example, a B.Com degree is not equivalent to BA Co-Operation or B. Com Computer Applications or B. Com Professional Accounting, he said.
“We found that many colleges and some universities had not developed their own syllabi at all. As a council, we must address the needs of all colleges,” pointed out an official. TANSCHE has determined a template for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, specifying the number of hours for core and elective subjects in each semester.
TANSCHE developed 166 undergraduate and 135 postgraduate courses, including 15 language courses. Given the popularity of B.Com, it has developed 29 courses. One of them is B.Com GST and another is B.Com Digital Banking and Fintech. It has also developed eight courses exclusively for vocational stream. There are five new courses to choose from in B.Sc. BA in Women Studies will be offered from this academic year as well.
Responding to the allegations that TANSCHE had no overriding power, the officials cite the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education Act, 1992. Section 10 (h) of the Act states that one of its functions is to “encourage and promote innovations in curriculum development, restructuring and updating of syllabi in Universities, colleges and institutions of higher education”.
Doubts about the rules
But senior academics are not sure if the rule prevents universities from framing their own syllabus. Academics have always relied on the University of Madras Act, framed in 1923, and periodically revised. Former Vice-Chancellor P. Duraisamy pointed out that the Madras University Calendar (the statute is known as Calendar) empowers the Boards of Studies to make recommendations with regard to courses of study and examinations in the subjects they deal with. Based on this, the course of study has been designed by the BoS.
Mr. Duraisamy said that when boards of studies prepare a syllabus, it is presented to the syndicate, which then forwards it to the Academic Council for approval.
At a meeting with heads of autonomous colleges in Chennai on August 2, Mr. Ponmudy assured them that there would be no interference with their autonomy. TANSCHE officials also maintain that autonomy would not be disturbed.
“We only want the colleges to follow 75% of the core syllabus... that will be the same across all colleges, but electives will differ, depending on the specialisation. We have structured the syllabus in such a manner that students will not have problems while applying for government jobs. Colleges have the freedom to plan a variety of electives. Ultimately, we want the students to benefit. They should not be denied jobs because their degrees do not comply with the requirements of the job,” said an official.
“We have only revised the syllabus. We are open to suggestions and corrections. Some teachers’ bodies that are levelling charges have not approached us with their grievances. To those who did, we have explained the process. When colleges frame the syllabus, they must have the required subject experts from the university, which is the affiliating body,” a higher education official said.
The course work must be cogent and follow through with the programme requirements, he added.
(With inputs from L. Srikrishna and B. Tilak Chandar in Madurai; P. Sudhakar in Tirunelveli; R. Krishnamoorthy in Coimbatore; and Nahla Nainar in Tiruchi).
