MUMBAI: The University of Mumbai (MU) will soon discontinue 304 examinations of old courses, such as French, German and certain courses in library sciences, among others. The decision was mentioned in a circular dated February 10 issued by the university’s Examination and Evaluation Board.
The statement underscores that 125 examinations belong to courses that have recorded zero student registration in the last two to three academic years, while 179 examinations are linked to courses that were closed 10 years ago. All these examinations have now been declared inactive or dormant.
In effect, these examinations will not be conducted anymore. Among the 125 exams with zero registration, 23 are from the Faculty of Commerce and Management, 15 from the Faculty of Humanities, 42 from interdisciplinary studies and 45 from the Faculty of Science and Technology. These exams have been discontinued as no students have registered for them in the past few years.
However, the university has stated that if any affiliated college or institution sends a proposal for student registration for these courses, the examinations may be conducted. In such cases, the entire process including the examination schedule, preparation of question papers, appointment of examiners and other procedures will be carried out by the university adhering to rules.
At the same time, the Examination and Evaluation Board has clarified that examinations of courses that were closed 10 years ago will not be conducted under any circumstances. Of the 179 such examinations, 10 are from the Faculty of Science and Technology, 86 from the Faculty of Commerce and Management, 38 from the Faculty of Humanities and 45 from interdisciplinary courses.
Explaining the decision, a principal from a Vile-Parle-based college said, “Most of the papers declared dormant are based on old examination patterns. The university stopped the Choice Based Grading System and the 75:25 marking system a few years ago. Still, some students who could not clear one or two subjects were appearing for exams under the old pattern. After waiting for 10 years, the university has finally decided to close these examinations, which will reduce the load on the examination system.”
Welcoming the move, another principal from a south Mumbai college said: “This is a good decision. As more colleges are offering courses under the new education policy, many of these subjects will now be part of a holistic syllabus or will be offered as elective choices for students.”