JOIN USAmong the many changes brought about by introduction of FYUP (Four-Year Undergraduate Programme) in Delhi University this year, is the scrapping of the entrance exam for Bachelor of Journalism (Hons).
In fact, the course itself has been renamed Bachelors of Journalism and Mass Communication and its syllabus completely re-laid.
The length of the professional course and the mandatory foundation courses apart, most teachers seem to be unhappy with doing away of the Centralised Journalism Entrance Test (CJET).
They are worried that CBSE marks are not a true reflector of one’s aptitude towards media and students selected on that basis alone may not be the most suited to the course.
Anubha Yadav, HoD Journalism, Kamala Nehru College, says, “DU and all its courses are in a phase of transition currently. A lot has been going on in terms of restructuring of the course, its syllabus etc and hence it was decided to drop the entrance exam this time.
“In an ideal situation, though, I would have preferred to continue with CJET. Journalism is very different from courses like say the pure sciences which you study in high school and arrive in college equipped with a set of skills.
Journalism has its peculiar requirements – interest in current affairs, flair for writing, communication etc - which are well judged only through an exam.”
Dr Tarjeet Sabharwal, HoD, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC), however, is more vocal of her disapproval, “I am really disappointed. DCAC was the first college to start a journalism course in DU back in 1989. In due course, Kamala Nehru, Lady Shri Ram, Kalindi, Maharaja Agrasen and IP also started teaching the subject but we have always had an entrance test – either individually or combined.”
“There is no provision for even an interview now. These days, CBSE gives 100 out of 100 marks to so many students even in English. You talk to them and they can’t even speak two lines in English coherently. I am afraid these students will replace the deserving students now.”
DU journalism aspirants are also a worried lot. Meeta Vashisht, who’s scored an 82 per cent in Std XII and has filled up the form for both English and Journalism, isn’t too hopeful of getting through, “I was really banking on the entrance exams for both the courses. Entrance tests provide an equal footing to all where we have to prove our mettle vis avis that course. Unfortunately, that provision is gone now.”
Surprisingly, DU has retained the entrance test for Hindi patrakarita/Hindi journalism.
When Metrolife contacted the Dean of Colleges, Professor Sudhish Pachauri, he said, “Every department decides for itself. The Faculty of Social Sciences may have been unsure about continuing the entrance for English Journalism but the Hindi department was keen to stay with it. So CJET was dropped and the Hindi Patrakarita test retained.”
But what about uniformity? Why have two standards for the same course in different languages? “We are looking into it. If the teachers consent, the Hindi Patrakarita test may also be scrapped from next year.”