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)
Thousands of students about to join college this year are caught in a standoff over the Delhi University's Four Year Undergraduate Programme or FYUP.
Delhi colleges have suspended admissions and demanded clarity on the controversial four-year system; the University Grants Commission (UGC) wants it scrapped but the university's Vice Chancellor has not complied.
Here is your 10-point cheat-sheet to the story:
"Until unambiguous guidelines are received from a competent authority, admissions will be deferred," said SK Garg, the president of the Delhi University principal's association. One of Delhi's top colleges, St Stephens, has already put off admissions.
The UGC had given the Delhi University time till Monday afternoon to end the four-year system - introduced last year despite protests - and help students who took admission last year to move to the three-year programme. (UGC ultimatum to Delhi University over four-year undergraduate programme)
The Delhi University has not responded to the UGC yet, though colleges say they are willing to follow the order. Sources say Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh's refusal to budge may cost him the post.
Various student bodies protested in the capital today against the four-year system. They demanded that the university revert to the previous three-year course. A section of students and teachers, however, want the new system to continue.
Sources say the government has refused to intervene in the row 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.
The dispute comes as students just out of school prepare for college admissions this week. The first cut off list was to be released on Monday evening and admissions were to begin on Tuesday. But over 30 colleges have decided not to put out the list.
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.
The UGC has appointed a 10-member committee to decide how to return to the old system. The members today decided that students who took admission under the four-year system will complete their degree in two instead of three years.
Some 60,000 students who enrolled under the four-year system may now have to go 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.
Post a comment