At the height of the Delhi University- University grants Commission face off, the harbinger of FYUP, Prof. Dinesh Singh resigned from his position as Vice Chancellor earlier today.
The resignation came after the Supreme Court dismissed a plea moved by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) seeking cancellation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) order asking the Delhi University (DU) to scrap its four-year undergraduate programme. Rumors of Mr. Singh resigning if the Four Year Undergraduate Programme was scrapped had already been floating around last week when the UGC order to scrap FYUP came in. On being questioned, DUTA joint secretary, Ms. Anita Ghosh confirmed the resignation, stating the irresponsible and rushed enforcement of FYUP harmful for the future of Delhi University.
‘Yes, in wake of the ongoing proposals, The VC has resigned. The four year plan had so many flaws. A lot of teachers’ opinions were brushed aside. The reckless implementation was spearheaded by the Vice Chancellor alone. It is sad how such so many loop holes were ignored. Even though they extended a year, the course structure was extremely weak and was rather a disservice to the students. With the revoking of the old plan and, hopefully, some improvements, Delhi University will regain it’s lost glory.’
Admission in Delhi University which were supposed to begin on 24th June have been stalled due to the lack of clarity in the admission process.The UGC had issued directions to all 64 colleges under Delhi University to conduct their admissions under the three-year under-graduate programme and not under the four-year UG programme. Colleges were warned of facing ‘consequences’ if they failed to follow the Commission’s directions.
Students who have just complete a year of FYUP are in a state of shock and confusion. The recent occurrences and the decision has left them in a lurch and quite unsure of the state of their degree. Says Vani, a student at Jesus Mary College, ” The resignation of the VC leaves us in a lurch. Our batch has forever been subjected to experiments, but this time the experiment has gone wrong. With our futures now very uncertain, one can’t help but wonder why didn’t the UGC step up all of last year midst the continuous protests. How can any alternative they come up with make up for the one year completely wasted on sub par subjects ?”
Unlike the statements being professed by student political parties , not all students of FYUP want it to be withdrawn. For some the courses in FYUP gave an interesting bend to college studies. Ayesha, a student of DU has lost her faith in the University. She says,” I am in shock. Its like a doomsday in the history of Indian Education. I am not prepared for the monotonous course prevalent in the past. And I am quite saddened at the fact that now I will neither get to study two disciplines and nor will be skilled enough for a job after my graduation.”
Raghav Chopra
Niharika Singh
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