Principals’ council seeks rethink on semester system in Kerala colleges

Council president Varughese Mathew said in an open letter that the system had turned out to be exam-oriented instead of encouraging the students’ aptitude for research-oriented learning.

The Kerala Unaided College Principals’ Council has urged the new Minister for Higher Education to have a rethink on the semester system in colleges in the State against the backdrop of the pandemic situation. Council president Varughese Mathew said in an open letter that the system had turned out to be exam-oriented instead of encouraging the students’ aptitude for research-oriented learning. A three-year degree course has six semesters and there are 17 exams in each semester. There are 10 internal exams, five university exams and one audit course exam and open course exam each, apart from five assignments per semester. A two-year postgraduate course with two semesters has 15 exams in each semester. During a three-year course, a student will have to write at least 102 exams, apart from appearing for seminars and doing assignments and projects. Before the semester system was implemented in 2010, both graduate and postgraduate students had only 15 exams in a year, including five university exams, and quarterly and half-yearly exams. They did not have any assignments or seminars.