Members of student body AISA staging a demonstration demanding roll back of FYUP in front of Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday (PTI photo)
College admissions have been put off in Delhi amid a major row over a controversial Four Year Undergraduate Programme or FYUP introduced last year.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) wants it scrapped but the Delhi University has not complied yet.
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36 college principals met today and decided to hold admissions until "unambiguous guidelines are received from a competent authority." The prestigious St Stephens college had already deferred its admissions process.
The UGC, which funds colleges, has ordered that there will be no more admissions under the four-year programme. It has issued notice asking students and parents to submit fees only for three years and warned colleges against admitting any student under the four-year system.
While colleges say they are willing to return to the three-year degree courses, Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh is yet to respond to the UGC order.
Sources say Mr Singh's refusal to budge may cost him the post. The UGC could ask the Education Ministry to take action if the standoff continues.
The government, sources say, has refused to intervene and wants the UGC and Delhi University to resolve it between them. The BJP, which came to power last month, had said during its election campaign that it would scrap the four-year programme.
Various student bodies protested in the capital today against the four-year system.
The dispute comes as students just out of school were preparing for college admissions this week. The colleges have decided not to put out cut off lists today. The worst affected, will be students from outside Delhi.
The four-year programme requires students to go through a foundation course in the first year before beginning their honours programme from the second year, unlike their counterparts in other universities in India. Many teachers say they were not consulted or given time to redesign the courses.
The UGC has appointed a 10-member committee to oversee the transition into the old system. The members today decided that last year's batch will complete their degree in two instead of three years.
Some 60,000 students who enrolled under the four-year system may now face the task of going back to the traditional three-year format. An exception may be made for B Tech degree courses, which, students say, can be completed only after four years.
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