KOLKATA: The sharp rise in the success rate in Calcutta University’s first semester examination may have put smiles on the faces of students, but several teachers felt the euphoria may be short-lived. While the advantages of the new system were showing, they could be overshadowed by the lacunae in a year’s time, they said on Friday. The two primary areas of concern are the teacher-student ratio, which has to improve, and infrastructure, which needs to be developed.The semester system — which allows a student to qualify for the next semester with pass marks in just one subject out of four — has also created backlogs. “The pressure of backlogs on students may become insurmountable,” a teacher said. Political science teacher at Charu Chandra College Bimal Shankar Nanda said his department had only two full-time faculty members though the number of sanctioned posts was five. “Though the first semester was smooth, it remains to be seen how teachers complete syllabi once parallel semesters start,” he said.A teacher at Bangabashi College said there was a provision under the semester system to allot separate rooms to every department, including laboratories. “There is an acute space crunch since an increase in the number of subjects has led to a rise in the number of students. The practical classes are being hampered as the laboratories don’t have enough space,” he said.A 60% attendance record that rewards marks under the newly introduced semester system has also been questioned. Jadavpur University has been able to sustain the semester system for a long time. “Our better faculty strength and lesser number of students compared to CU have been advantageous,” said Partha Pratim Ray, teacher of physics in JU.

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