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June 24, 2013

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Here’s how the newly-introduced Four Year Undergraduate Programme is going to affect the students aspiring to study English literature and the course itself, at the University of Delhi:

Topics changed or added or removed
The number of papers for English Honours has been reduced from 23 to 20 that are included in the Discipline Courses1 (DC1). Choosing Popular Fiction or European Realism, Literary Theory or Modern European Drama has been done away with, and for good, since now the students have the opportunity to study varied literature. Choicelessness is definitely bliss here, especially for students who hope to study more and more literature.

Enriching or diluting?
With the addition of new material the course has definitely been enriched. There is a wider range in terms of the DC1 syllabus now.

Structure
The semester system will not be affected due to FYUP. Two semesters annually, much like the three-year system, with the addition of another year and two more semesters. In English, syllabus has been shuffled, new topics added and existing syllabus has been clubbed together.

More practical or theoretical now?
Through the Applied Courses, there is scope for a more practical knowledge rather than the theoretical study of DC1 and DC2. Class presentations and discussions, if conducted properly, regularly and for everybody, will surely help the students in fields outside the theoretical realm of the course that is English Honours.

Affect on students
Covering all the topics within the stipulated time might turn out to be a Herculean task, leaving behind only those students who can handle the pressure and time crunch.

Exit points
The option of leaving the course after two years will produce a large number of students who will not have a proper degree or qualification in terms of employability. It cannot be determined whether a person who has studied English literature for only two years might be able to land up a good job; the chances do not seem very appealing.

Employability
Expansion of the course will definitely be able to help students of English in gaining better jobs, provided that the student covers all four years of the course.

Final verdict
FYUP has taken the University with a storm, and the results can be determined only after four years have passed. Although it is felt that more time and discussions should have been spent on the Programme, many feel that FYUP is good for the students. The development of the syllabus has been done within few weeks, with not enough consideration given to how the colleges are going to manage faculty, time and space. Since this is how the system going to be now, we hope it turns out for the best.

(For analysis of other courses click here)

NSIT
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, a leading engineering college in New Delhi and currently a part of Delhi University, has now been granted the status of a university and would be called NSIT University, Delhi. The Cabinet meeting which was presided over by the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, gave its approval to upgrade NSIT into a university. Dikshit said “NSIT, which has emerged as a premier technological institute for education and research in the area of engineering and technology and has carved a niche for itself nationally and internationally.”

She further added that the upgradation shall improve the standard of education of students and boost up the quality of students. It has been agreed by the Delhi Government as well as the Board of Governors of NSIT that in the process of transformation of NSIT into a State university, the name ‘NSIT’ would remain intact thereby maintaining a brand linkage with the past.

Presently, the institute is affiliated to University of Delhi for its academic programmes. The institute has at present six under-graduate programmes in the areas of technologies and three post-graduate programmes for M-tech degrees along with research programmes for PHD degrees in all engineering disciplines and applied sciences.

At the very foundation of NSIT, which was formally known as Delhi Institute of Technology (DIT) in 1983, it was envisaged that the institute would eventually aim for becoming a university. It was granted administrative autonomy in 1986 with the direction to keep in mind the long-term goal of achieving the status of a university. The institute applied for the grant of Deemed-University status earlier also, However, Delhi Government was at that time not willing to sacrifice 85% reservation of seats for Delhi students and thus the idea was shelved. But in the recent times the Delhi government has granted university status to many institutes like DTU, IIIT, Ambedkar, G.G.S. IP University and IGIT and now NSIT being a new addition to the list, the government is aiming to make Delhi an educational hub.

However students differ with the government’s decision on many fronts. Many students have shown their discontent by writing mails, meeting government and principal.

Kushal Sagar, one of the student of NSIT apprises that NSIT is not ready for such transformation as it lacks infrastructure. It has been said that the funding given to the institute as a state university would improve and hence the for infrastructural growth will increase but in recent past we have had sufficient funds available for the betterment of our infrastructure but they haven’t been put up to any good use till now. He further added that another blow for the students is the loss of brand value of DU, on which they used to bank upon while applying to foreign universities. This transformation will too have a bearing upon the placements as central universities are given more preference over state universities.

The students also fear that with the introduction of Meta courses and four year degree courses in DU, the quality of students shall deteriorate and they will face more stiff competition from the new changes occurring in the field of science in DU.

The students are of the view that they would have welcomed the change if NSIT would have been upgraded to an NIT or IIT, thereby maintaining the central character and retaining the tag of an ?Institute of National Importance while achieving full autonomy or  the complete control could be passed on to Delhi University.

Some people say that this move was initiated by the government just because the government wants to project to the common man that during their tenure, they have established a number of universities and thus, disregarding the quality they are targeting only on the quantity to gain vote bank. The conversion would result in recruitment of faculty, administrative staff and students on the basis of donation and approach. University will be under the influence of local MLAs and MPs which will lead to deterioration in the quality of education.