Shorter exam rota, more class hours, proposes CU syndicate
Times of India | 28 November 2025
Kolkata: A shorter examination schedule and more class hours for undergraduate courses at Calcutta University: This was one of the proposals made at the university's first syndicate meeting, chaired by the new permanent VC, Ashutosh Ghosh, on Thursday. The university formed a committee to work out the proposal, aimed at improving the standard of education.
According to members of the syndicate, the highest decision-making body of CU, affiliated colleges have been struggling to cram the syllabus within limited hours owing to long-drawn-out exam rota ever since the semester system started in 2017 for arts and in 2018 for science. Most colleges suspend classes during exams, even for batches not appearing for any test at that time. The UGC guidelines mandate at least 90 days of classes every UG semester, while an average of 30-35 days of classes are held at CU colleges every semester. A syndicate member said CU was looking to resolve this issue, which had started to take a toll on the standard of UG education.
"It's high time to make some reforms to restore our past glory. If we can combine all the odd-semester exams on one exam day, and all the even-semester exams on one day, we can hold classes simultaneously, minimising academic losses," said a member.
"We have been running without any academic calendar. Students appearing for semester exams attend a limited number of classes, which needs to be reformed immediately," said a principal.
The meeting also saw a discussion on utilising vacations to make up for classes missed. "Most govt colleges hold classes during long breaks. Aided colleges, too, should start this practice to make up for learning losses," said a CU official.
To fill vacant teaching posts at the earliest, it was decided to proceed with pending ads, published in '22. Only 445 of 860 PG teaching posts are taken. CU is also seeking legal opinion to start recruitment of non-teaching staffers.