Nearly three lakh students are caught in limbo amid a standoff over the Delhi University's controversial four-year undergraduate programme, which has stalled college admissions. The university, which has refused to revert to the old three-year pattern, has now backed a plan recommended by professors and academicians, to make minor tweaks in the four-year course.
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The University Grants Commission or UGC, the central funding agency that coordinates college education policies, wrote to the University again last night asserting that admissions must begin under a three-year degree format.
The UGC wants the university to scrap the Four Year Undergraduate Programme or FYUP introduced last year despite opposition.
In response, the Delhi University has asked the UGC to approve a plan that will allow students to graduate in three years with minor changes to the four-year pattern. The proposal calls for reducing foundation courses that students have to take in the first two years, and offer an optional fourth year for research.
"Migrating to the old system would be time consuming, so we propose that the FYUP course can be amended... If UGC approves, there will be no delay implementing it," said Malay Neerav, the university's media coordinator.
The future of nearly three lakh students hinges on a solution to the row that has held up admissions for four days. Several students protested in the heart of the capital and were stopped by the police from marching towards the President's House.
In the past few days, rumours have been swirling about the resignation of Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh, who championed the four-year pattern.
Today, the ruling BJP said he must resign. "Unfortunate that the DU VC's ego is overriding the future of lakhs of students," said the party's Siddharth Nath Singh. The government has refused to step into the dispute for now.
Many teachers and students say the move to introduce the four-year pattern last year was half-baked and failed to factor in the university's stretched resources. Nearly 60,000 students were admitted under the new system.
Despite the standoff, the university conducted an entrance test today to a Bachelor of Management Studies course started under the four-year programme. A notice clarified that the results of the test would be valid even if there was any change.
Critics of the four-year programme argue that it forces students to spend the first two years studying general foundation courses, similar to the US college system. They say the current schooling system in India (the 10+2 scheme) allows students to enter college primed to choose a specific subject or discipline.
