Amid the prevailing confusion and controversy over the four-year degree course in Delhi University, the Centre on Friday backed the new format program slated to begin this academic session.
HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju, who had so far refrained from making his position known on the issue, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the change in programme has been approved by the university court and the students at large after exhaustive deliberations.
The Minister said after the court of the university approved the proposal on March 22 this year, the Delhi University Vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh with his team attended a meeting organised by Delhi University Students’ Parliament to respond to the queries of the students.
The HRD Ministry has been informed that the university has held extensive consultations with various stakeholders such as students, parents, teachers, deans of faculty, heads of departments, principals of colleges, employers, among others over a period of two years.
An open academic congress was also held in September last year attended by over 1,400 stakeholders and it recommended introducing the four year degree programme. A 61-member task force had also endorsed the recommendations.
“The proposal to introduce the four-year programme from July, 2013 was approved by the academic council by a majority, recording only six dissents out of 86 members who attended the meeting in December last year. After a series of discussion, the students expressed support for the new undergraduate programme,” Raju said.
Raju mentioned that in 2008 the Delhi University informed the Ministry that the academic council has resolved to hold wide consultations for introducing the programme.
The Minister appeared to support the programme in his statement in Parliament which came in the wake of a section of teachers accusing the university authorities of being in a hurry to introduce the programme from July this year without holding exhaustive deliberations.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) too has backed the four year degrees course. UGC Chairperson Ved Prakash said there is no problem in Delhi University starting this course keeping in mind to align with the international standards, however there are issues which need to be addressed by the university.
He said that according to Kothari Commission, duration of a programme may vary from university to university and also within same university. “This programme has to be aligned with Master’s programme offered in this university as well as other universities,” Prof Prakash said adding that there may be technical problem as university will have to keep continuing with two-year masters for students armed with a three-year degree from other universities.