Pune: Second- and third-year undergraduate classes are set to begin in the first week of July, but admissions to the much-touted fourth year of National Education Policy’s (NEP) four-year undergraduate honours programme are yet to start in most autonomous colleges affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), where the new curriculum was introduced three years ago.A survey by the colleges showed poor interest among students to enrol in the fourth year. Anand Katikar, secretary, Deccan Education Society, said, “If a student pays Rs 15,000 per year in a grantable division for three years, since fourth year is not grantable, he or she may have to pay Rs 80,000 or more depending upon what the college decides because they have to appoint new faculty, come up with a new timetable etc, for the fourth-year students. If students raise an issue tomorrow, what will we do? We need written clarification from SPPU regarding all aspects,” Katikar said.He added that they plan to start separate fourth-year classes only if there are enough students. “If there are only one or two students, we plan to let them sit with our PG first-year batch as the syllabus is comparative. We will tell them about this before they take admission so that they know how the lessons will be imparted,” Katikar said.Of the 600-odd students for BCom, Manojkumar Devne, principal of Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce said that about 120 students want the fourth year or honors course. “We also don’t know how many students who showed interest four months ago when they were going to appear for their third-year examination will take admission to the fourth year when it opens. Because of no new recruitment in teaching positions for so many years, many professors who worked as guides have retired across colleges. So there will be limitations on colleges offering honors with research,” Devne added. He said they are also waiting for SPPU to issue notifications about the fourth year to start the admission process.Sir Parashurambhau College is prepared to offer the fourth year in sociology, psychology, mathematics, commerce and geography. Principal Avinash Moharil said, “Of these, we are giving honors with research option in psychology and geography. Everything is ready. We have gone through SPPU’s draft guidelines. But before implementing anything, the university must issue a final notification clarifying the process of admission and operation of the honors and honors with research courses. Without that, if we start and tomorrow there is an issue, we have nothing to fall back on. We need to start with all angles secure,” Moharil said.Moharil added that to avail the concessions in fees arising out of social reservation, the new courses need to be mapped with the social welfare department. “Till then, the students will not be eligible for any scholarships or fellowships,” he added. Even if the university issues a final notification approved by all governing bodies like the academic council of the university by the month-end, or the first week of July, the delay will not affect the academic session.St Mira’s College has begun admissions and said it will charge fees equivalent to those for its non-grant first-year postgraduate programmes for students enrolling in the fourth-year honors course.“We have 24 students who have applied for fourth year in psychology, 16 or 17 in English and so on. The numbers will go up and the admission process is on. We offer the fourth-year option or the honors option in select subjects like computer science, English, sociology, economics, cost and taxation, accounting etc and depending on the response, we will decide the course. We awaited guidelines from SPPU, but then we wrote to SPPU saying that we are starting the admissions under these conditions and they gave us approval,” principal Neeru Bhagat said.
