The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Govt. of India, has already initiated the process of developing New Education Policy (NEP) in our country to bring out reforms in the Indian education system. As a part of NEP, the Choice Based Credit System is an initiative undertaken by University Grant Commission.
The Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) is a model of education introduced by UGC to improve the quality of education. It pays more attention to enhancing knowledge, developing skills, and building confidence among the learners.
Different from the traditional model, the Choice-based Credit system is more student-centric and offers a great opportunity for students to learn courses & subjects of their choice. In CBCS, learners have the opportunity select courses and subjects from the core courses, elective courses, open or generic elective courses & skill-based courses.
In the traditional educational model University syllabus was so rigid therefore, learners were forced to choose the courses prescribed by the university. Now learners have a number of options from each category course. Students can select their courses based on their interests and aptitude. Unlike the traditional education model, the CBCS grading pattern is based on earned credits in every semester or term.
Credit system in Choice-based credit system.
The CBCS grading pattern is based on earned credits in every semester or term. Credit means the number of hours allotted for learning a course. The credit system is a method adopted by Universities to specify the number of hours of learning effort that a student has to put in while completing a course. This helps the learner to know the academic effort he/she has to put in, to successfully complete a course.
The Choice-based credit system in IGNOU
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) follows the Credit System‘ for most of its programmes. Each credit in the system is equivalent to 30 hours. One credit is equal to 30 hours. (1 Credit =30 hours). IGNOU offers courses with both 4 credits and 6 credits. Thus, a 4-credit course involves 120 hours (4×30=120)of study and a 6-credit course involves 180 hours (6×30=180) of study.
Distribution of credits in IGNOU
IGNOU has categorized all its courses into five groups based on their nature. The credit allotted for all courses depends on their category. The number of credits allotted for each course varies based on its category and nature. The following are the Five categories and allotted credits that are offered by IGNOU.
