Credit system results in high failure rate in BCom first semester

Updated on: Wednesday, December 07, 2011

After Mumbai University introduced the credit and grading systems from this academic session, 70% students of many colleges have reportedly failed to clear the first semester exams of first year BCom. Principals believe that the students have fared abysmally as they had not taken the new assessment system seriously; they are now conducting meetings with parents and holding orientation programmes to sensitise them on the issue.

Till last year, colleges calculated the scores of the two term exams in each year to add up the pass mark, which was 35%. However, in the new system, results of every semester will be considered and the scores will be mentioned in the final report card. Debajit Sarkar, principal of J M Patel College of Commerce said, “It will be worrying if they continue to fare so badly in the second semester as well. In the new system, the students have to appear for almost double the number of exams than earlier, including the external and internal assessments. Moreover this time, the pass mark has increased to 40%. So, with more papers and higher pass cut-off, the students will have to work harder. If they have failed in two subjects in the first semester, they will have to ensure that they clear all the subjects in the second semester. If not, they will have to repeat a year.” Around 80% students have failed in J M Patel College in the first semester.

The failure count is around 70% at KPB Hinduja College at Charni Road. “Students have not taken the new credit system seriously. Though the results were counted at the end of the year till last year, internally, the first term results were always good,” said the principal, T A Shiware.

Madhavi Pethe, principal of M L Dahanukar College in Vile Parle, has decided to hand over the report cards to the students’ parents and tell them about the new system. Her college has witnessed a dip of 15 % in the first semester results and she called it a teething problem for the change in the exam pattern. Minu Thomas of SIES College of Commerce and Economics, Sion, said students got less time to prepare as the lectures started in July and the exams were conducted by September-end. “It was not possible to have internals spread over the short semester. The next semester will be divided more evenly,” said Thomas, hoping more time would iron out the problem. Another principal is worried that if the failure rate remained as high even in the second semester, then the college would not be able to fill up all the second-year seats.

In spite of the high fail percentage, dean of commerce of Mumbai University Madhu Nair feels that the new system will help improve the quality of students. “These are teething problems. Students have one more attempt in January and they will start taking their studies seriously from now,” Nair added.

Credit system results in high failure rate in BCom first semester

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