Chennai:

The 500 self-financing colleges affiliated to Anna University are set to start the academic year with a new syllabus. A team of 240 faculty members of Anna University, Chennai, including 10-12 members from each department, coordinated by the academic courses director, is working to roll out the syllabus.

For the affiliated colleges, this is the second time the syllabus has changed in two years. The first time was in 2011, when the directorate of technical education asked colleges affiliated to each of the five Anna Universities of Technology to follow R-2008 instead of the one prescribed by the respective AUT.

“It is four years since R-2008 was drawn up. At Anna University it is customary to revise the syllabus every four years. This helps us to adapt to industry needs and keep up with technology developments,” said a senior faculty member of Anna University, Chennai. The constituent colleges of Anna University, Chennai — Guindy College of Engineering, Madras Institute of Technology and Alagappa College of Technology — follow a different curriculum and syllabus called R-2009. “This syllabus is tougher than that prescribed for the affiliated colleges. Work on upgrading it will begin next year,” said another faculty member.

With just a few weeks to go for the new academic year to start, academicians believe the change will not be too drastic. “It is likely that there is only a 10% change in the syllabus. A couple of electives are likely to be added based on industry inputs,” said an academic. For instance, the Data Structures course could be changed to Date Structures with Programming in C, C++.

The move has evoked mixed reactions. Anna University faculty are pleased. “When the AUTs were formed they started their own curriculum and syllabus based on their whims and fancies. At least now the colleges will conform to the academic standard set by the university.”

Others said institutions should be allowed to work out the curriculum according to the region concerned. A faculty member in Chennai may not be aware of or bother too much about the need for solutions to a regional problem. In Tuticorin, for instance, the need may be for technology that helps workers separate salt from impurities in the salt pans there. A professor in Chennai is unlikely to know about such demands. “It’s not so much about knowledge, as knowledge delivery that we have to worry about. The curriculum may have changed, but how many teachers will be able to adapt to it? Our teacher are not prepared for the new syllabus,” said educational consultant P Moorthy Selvakumaran.

For the second year, the 500-odd technical institutions will follow a common academic calendar too. All AUTs and Anna University, Chennai, will have the same semester opening and closing dates, examinations and practicals.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> News> Education / TNN / July 11th, 2012