In 1st 4-yr sem exam, CU BSc results crash, pass percentage drops by 9%
Times of India | 6 July 2024
Kolkata: The pass percentage in the first-semester exams for BSc major students of Calcutta University-affiliated colleges has dropped by 9% from that last year. In 2023, 53.8% BSc honours students had cleared their first-semester exams, but this year, the figure came down to 44%, as was evident from the results of arts and science UG courses in the new four-year and three-year degree programmes under Curriculum and Credit Framework (CCF) that were declared on Friday.The pass percentage for BA major subjects, however, remained similar at around 46%.
The first-semester exams were held in April. Some professors said the new format was completely different from the Choice-based Credit System (CBCS), which was followed last by the batch that entered colleges in 2022. CU’s officiating VC Shanta Datta told TOI, “It was challenging for students, teachers as well as the entire CU administration as the system was new. Students and teachers had a very short time to prepare. There has been a slight drop in the pass percentage in science major subjects compared to that the previous year, when CBCS was followed. But the drop is below 10%, which means students and teachers worked hard. In arts major, students did very well, almost similar to that by the last batch under CBCS system.”
The results under the three-year multidisciplinary courses in BA and BSc were not encouraging. Several CU college principals said the syllabi of multidisciplinary courses, which were akin to pass courses, were extensive and that impacted the major subject results. Moreover, this was the “Covid batch” that had not written their X boards but were awarded scores, based on a formula, some said.
CU officials pointed out that under CBCS, students had to take exams for 20 credits and under CCF, 21. Under CBCS, students appeared for four papers, while under CCF, there were seven papers. Of those seven papers, major, minor, and skill enhancement papers were conducted by CU but were held at away centres, while value-added courses, interdisciplinary courses and ability-enhancement courses were held at home centres. “The exams were held following a multicomponent under CCF for the first time in CU. It was handled systematically, which reflected in the results,” said a CU official.
A total of 67,802 students enrolled for the exam. Nine results were incomplete.