80 per class is the upper limit8217;

In an interview to Deepa A, the university8217;s registrar, Dr P V Pradhan, says restricting class strength is a long way off in the existing scenario. Dr Pradhan, who is also the convenor of the university8217;s centralised admission cell, discusses alternatives to dealing with the sheer numbers that confront one India8217;s premier universities.

How essential are restrictions on student strength?
You8217;re not aneffective teacher if the classroom strength goes above 80, especially in non-science, descriptive subjects. It is necessary to maintain eye contact with students, which is why UGC has prescribed an ideal limit of 60-80. Under the circumstances, anything between 80 and 100 is reasonable. Colleges have space only for that many students.

But why did the university suddenly decide to implement a government directive issued in 1995?
Teachers have been complaining that they find it difficult to handle internal assessment introduced two years ago and project work. Also, we started implementing the 75 per cent attendance rule strictly from last year. When most students started attending classes, it was found that there was not enough space to accommodate all. We then decided to implement the directive from the next academic year. It has to be implemented at some point.

Didn8217;t the university anticipate the consequences?
The problem of students not securing admissions was discussed by theAcademic Council AC, which decided to request the government for grants to open additional divisions. After all, the AC includes principals and government representatives. The decision was taken only to ensure a better student-teacher ratio.

But was there any discussion with the government, which had to finally request the university to refrain from implementing its own directive.
Before issuing the circular there was no dialogue. We thought we were only implementing a government directive. Unfortunately, it turned out this way.

Over the years, has the university not discussed the problem of excess students with the government?
For one, the joint director of higher education is the government8217;s representative in the AC. Besides, we have been requesting the government for grants for the past three years. Last year too there was a problem and the government promised to give us permission to start a few divisions, but the approval has not yet come.

If the government does not givethe grant by next year, how will the university accommodate the excess students?
We will request the government to hike the fees so that it will be feasible for colleges to run new divisions. In engineering colleges, for instance, there are payment seats and merit seats. Though this creates social disparities, it also provides options for students who can afford it. Even if the government gives partial grants, an affordable fee structure can be worked out.

Why place the entire onus on the government? Isn8217;t there anything that the university can do?
We8217;re working on the virtual classroom concept, of interactive classrooms, where students can log on to the Net and learn. We8217;re currently talking to CMC, which is involved in computer education. The CMC has MoUs with other universities in the country. But distance education is not the question here.

What else can the university do?
We8217;re thinking of introducing a diploma course in computer education after Std XII. Also, to attract students in the Science faculty, we have started a Bachelor8217;s degree in Computer Science. We have also introduced Biochemistry at the first and second year levels. The Bachelor in Management Studies course introduced this year will also ease the pressure on the Commerce stream.

Science subjects could have more takers if you introduce vocational subjects.
Any new course is without grant, which means a higher fee structure. This will deter students from opting for these courses. Government grants are a must for these to be popular.