A big question mark hovers above the administration of Delhi University over the use of laptops which were purchased by the university in 2013 for the first batch under the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP).
The principals of colleges are yet to take a decision on what has to be done with the systems, but several officials in the university have hinted reallocation of the laptops to students since there is no other way of utilising them. The university in 2013 channelled a large sum of money for purchasing laptops to give out to the first-year students under FYUP to help students complete the project work of the foundation courses. While it was optional for students to take the laptops, it came as a boon to a lot of students who could never afford one. However, these laptops were given on the condition that they had to be returned to the university at the end of the year. Now these laptops are lying with the university, which has not yet decided what to do with them.
According to Dr Pratibha Jolly, principal Miranda House, the university hasn’t issued any notice regarding what has to be done with these laptops. “We are yet to take a decision and we haven’t got any instructions from the university so far. There are other things in the admission process which need to be prioritised right now so we haven’t given it much thought,” she said. Another principal of a college in North Campus, who wished not to be named, said, “We are looking at several options right now. In case the university doesn’t instruct us on what to do, we will have to take a call. The laptops are a liability on us right now.”
Sources in the university have however suggested that students may now be given an option to issue the laptops for academic purposes. “The laptops cannot be sold since it would be a big loss to the university. Thus, students should be given an option to use them. It can either be allocated on the basis of course, category or interest. The decision is yet to be taken,” said a source.
Chances are that even teachers may now get a chance to avail the facility. A few officials hinted that teachers may first be given an option to issue the laptops to help them deliver lectures. “However, all of this is speculation and one cannot say for sure what will be done with them. Nonetheless, the laptops will definitely have to be reallocated in some way or the other,” said an official in the Dean Students Welfare.