Should India replace its three-year B.sc degree course with a four-year BS course modelled on the US pattern? Opinions so far are tilted towards the favourable as the idea seems to have met far more approvals than disapprovals.

The four-year course is expected to be introduced in major Indian institutes — the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institutes of Technology — and then some universities across the country next year onwards. In the four-year course, students will be exposed to the core science streams in the first year and will be expected to choose their area of specialisation from the second year. The idea is to replace drab, single track science with an interesting, inter-disciplinary approach.

The idea was mooted by the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS) which urged the other two science education bodies National Academy of Sciences and the Indian National Science Academy to look at the merits of the US model.

It would be interesting to hear from students and academics on what they think of this. Especially in times when the number of students seeking admission to science streams is not so flattering. Will this mean more students coming in to do science or will an extra year be a dampener?