Higher Education today dependson quality for its advancement.If we look at the education system over time, it has been almost consistent all over the world. Through advancement and exposure to new concepts, educationists investigate possibilities to teach texts in innovative ways. There are a number of good ideas, proposals and suggestions for reforms and changes in the educational system. The aim should be to not just pick one of them but rather, have a comprehensive attitude and approach to implement those that are most effective. Therefore, introduction of semester can be said to be a product of this. The semester system has been introduced in the undergraduate curriculumin affiliated colleges in the university with effect from 2009 onwards. Teachers, students and guardians who were used to the practice and idea of the annual system were slightly hesitant in its implementation. Especially in schools, the students and teachers are used to rigorous work, and are compelled to study almost the whole year with two or three major breaks as vacations in the bi-yearly or tri-yearly examinations. The introduction of this system can be evaluated as part of the consistency of the school years.

A semester system is an academic term denoting the duration of a programme or course. Usually, an academic semester is divided in two parts or terms in a year. Literally, semester means six month period. In India this six month system is generally followed. The Central universities in India have long been following this for quite sometime. At present, the under graduate colleges in Nagaland too follow   the semester system, which has many advantages that I would like to highlight below.

The main objective is to broaden the outlook of the students and instil in them a sense of confidence and responsibility. It orients the students with different forms, style and thoughts in other parts of the country and beyond. The students are continuously evaluated throughout the duration of a semester which keeps them more alert.Unit or class tests act as model tests for the final examination. A detailed account of the student’s progress can be produced in semester. It also allows greater interaction with teachers and the students through presentations and discussions. . Students are now assessed not only on the basis of final examination that used to be at the end of each year anymore. Results are now declared on grade basis with credit points in each semester rather than on division basis i.e., Grade O whichmeans marks between 80-100, Grade A which means marks between 70-79.99, Grade B which means marks between 60-69.99, Grade C which falls between 55 – 59.99, Grade D for 50 – 54.99 marks, Grade E for 45 – 49.99 marks and Grade F (Fail) for marks less than 44.99.Students now have more opportunity to secure higher marks than the annual system, due to the marking scheme which entails 30 marks for internal tests and 70 marks for the final exam or semester end-exam.

We find that most nations of the world today are constantly switching to the semester system. It is estimated that the famous global economics of the world today are USA, China and India. In the world of competitions, one of the largest is education. We find that China is almost replacing USA in this area too, apart from fighting hand in hand in occupying the global markets. In fact, trying to occupy the markets in the world of education is actually occupying the largest share of intellectual position in the global education ladder. To compete and win, the rules should be the same. Following the footsteps of the important nations of the world, India, without wastingany more time wants to fall in the same system, which also means Nagaland is a contender too.Introduction of the semester system in Nagaland, I believe, might help in increasingthe quality of education. This system has already been used rather successfully in professional courses like B.B.A, B.Com and Journalism taught at the under graduate level at some universities across the country. Despite some initial resistance, there is growing appeal to the semester system. It is a sign of encouragement to the academic world. The human resources lie in the youth under the guidance of the teachers. The hard work and integrity of the teacher is proved too in this new experimentation. It does not mean that theannual system is worthless system, however,experimentation with something new is a habit with human beings to create something better in competing with the other markets around the world.The policy maker of our education system thus needs a forward looking strategy, which could safeguard our interests at the global level. It needs to organize itself in such a manner that it makes our student community competent and skilled to succeed in an independent world.

 

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