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The High Court (HC) ruled in favour of the petitioner and stated that the University could not unfairly reject admissions of deserving students because of the inconsistency in its own information bulletin.

In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court called out the University of Delhi for arbitrarily cancelling a student’s enrollment. The case goes back to the previous term, 2022–23, when a student was denied admission to Kirori Mal College (KMC) in the B.A. Hons Geography programme offered by Delhi University (DU) on the grounds of “non-fulfilment of subject mapping criteria.”

Since last year, admissions to many central universities, including Delhi University (DU), have taken place through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) (UG)-2022. The eligibility criteria require passing class XII from a recognised board and adhering to programme-specific requirements. In this case, the petitioner opted for English, Hindi, Geography/Geology, History, and Political Science, deviating from specific subject requirements for B.A. (Hons.) Geography.

However, the CUET allowed for flexibility if an individual Central University permitted it and The petitioner argued that, in the absence of ‘English Literature’ as a CUET subject, he opted for ‘History,’ which he considered the closest match to his prior studies. According to Clause 4 of the University’s information bulletin, the student was offered this flexibility.

After the results were announced, the petitioner was allotted a seat in the B.A. Hons Geography programme at Kirori Mal College on October 19, 2022. The seat was accepted by the student, but the University later cancelled his admission, citing “non-fulfilment of subject mapping criteria.”. This lead to a legal dispute.

The University of Delhi challenged the petitioner’s eligibility based on the subjects chosen in CUET. This case was previously presented to a single judge bench presided over by Justice Vikas Mahajan, who held that the University of Delhi had arbitrarily and incorrectly cancelled the petitioner’s seat without any of the petitioner’s fault and violated the terms and conditions outlined in the Bulletin of Information. He also noted that the petitioner was a deserving and meritorious student who had made it to the merit list in the first round of admissions.

The University of Delhi was ordered to admit the petitioner into the B.A. (Hons.) Geography programme at the same institution in the academic year 2023-2024 due to the conclusion of the admission procedure for the previous year.

The single judge’s decision ordering the University to accept the student into the B.A. (Hons.) Geography programme for the academic year 2023–2024 was challenged by DU in a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) and hence presented to the High Court.

Delhi University was represented by attorneys Mohinder J.S. Rupal, Hardik Rupal, and Sachpreet Kaur, while the respondent student was represented by advocates A. Velan, Navpreet Kaur, Nishant Bishnoi, and Mritunjay Pathak.

The appeal was to reverse the previous judgement because, as per the guidelines, the student was required to give the admission test again to get enrolled for the academic year 2023-2024. The appellant also argued that the ‘DU Exception’ did not apply in this case, and hence the judge cannot link ‘English Literature’ and ‘History’ as similar.

The key concerns of the court were to explore and understand the university guidelines and check whether ‘History’ could be replaced with ‘English literature’ or not. Secondly, the bench considered whether the student could actually be admitted to the term 2023–24 based on the previous judgement.

The court observed that although CUET required students to align with subjects that they took in class XIIth Examination, Clause 4 of the information bulletin permits the students to choose a subject that mirrors their preference in XIIth Board and resembles the programme they wish to pursue further, hence offering a deviation. In this situation, the student had rightly used ‘DU Exception’ with no fault of his own since the university had not released clearer instructions regarding the same. The whole injustice was caused by the ‘narrow interpretation’ of the guidelines.

The University’s denial of admission was hence unreasonable, according to the court, which also determined that the student had properly used the DU Exception. It brought to light the ambiguous criteria for using the DU Exception and the University’s constrained interpretation of its own guidelines.

Delhi University has failed to provide a cogent rationale regarding the perceived dissimilarity between ‘English Literature’ and ‘History’ and overlooked the very essence of the DU Exception. Notably, the University has neither delineated guidelines nor disseminated instructions that clarify the parameters of the DU Exception, such as defining the extent of “similarity” or “closeness” between subjects.

– Read the observations by the bench.

Regarding the second matter of reviewing the single judge’s decision to provide relief to the petitioner, the court referred to the judgement of the Hon‘ble Supreme Court of India in the case of S. Krishna Sradha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (2020) 17 SCC 465. According to the guidelines of this landmark ruling, if a ‘meritorious’ student has been denied admission on arbitrary grounds or the breach of rules, affecting his or her rights, and has approached the court on time without any delay, he or she should be granted justice to not limit their academic journey. If he or she cannot be provided relief of admission in the present year, the court can direct such admission to the next academic year.

The bench thus favoured the student and mentioned,

The student cannot be held accountable for any delay or negligence. Being an exemplary candidate, he has been unfairly deprived of his admission due to the capricious and unwarranted decisions of the Appellant University.

The Court emphasised the importance of upholding the ideals of fairness, inclusion, and clarity in educational institutions, particularly those with the status of Delhi University. It criticised the absence of clear guidelines for applying the DU Exception, stating that this ambiguity not only leaves students in a state of uncertainty but also makes it difficult to foster clarity in rules and their uniform implementation.

Read also: Shockingly Low Admissions for New B.Tech. Courses at DU

Featured Image Credits: Google Images

Priya Agrawal
[email protected]

At DU’s centenary celebration, the PM brought up the fact that there are more girls enrolled at DU than boys. However, the classrooms paint a rather different picture.

The University of Delhi recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Large-scale events were organised, the Prime Minister and Education Minister were invited as chief guests. In his speech, the Prime Minister congratulated DU on its 100th anniversary and highlighted the fact that more girls than boys are enrolled in DU classes. But do our classrooms deliver an identical picture?

According to The Indian Express, DU’s enrolment has dropped to a five-year low, slipping from 73,374 students in 2018-2019 to 64,915 in 2022-2023. Girls’ enrolment in UG courses plunged by 37.75 percent this year, from 54,818 in 2021 to 34,120 in 2022-2023, whereas male enrollment fell by just 1,585, from 32,380 in 2021 to 30,795 this year. Overall, girls made up 52.5 percent of the entire undergraduate student body at DU this year, compared to 62.87 percent in 2021-22. 

Even before the significant drop in enrollment, these figures demonstrate that “DU has more girls enrolled than boys”. However, what is crucial to note here is the concentration of female students. The majority of these 52.5% female students are enrolled in SOLs, or women’s colleges. If one focuses on regular courses in co-ed colleges, female students in some colleges account for less than one-third of the overall student population.

According to an All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report, the gender gap in UG programmes worsened following the pandemic. In Kirori Mal College, there are 28 girls* in BSc. (H). Mathematics, 2021-2024, a batch of 104 students. The same is true for the majority of batches. In an interview, former principal of KMC Vibha Singh Chauhan blamed the absence of a girls’ hostel as a major reason for such a wide gap in the sex ratio. 

However, the case of Hindu College presents a completely different scenario. Hindu College, which has a girl’s hostel, only has 39% female students. The administration fails to provide a valid explanation behind the skewed gender ratio. A number of DU colleges started to relax female student’s cut-offs by 1%. While Sri Aurobindo College saw a 10% rise in female student enrollment following its implementation, other institutions observed no substantial change.

However, with the introduction of CUET, the implementation of this relaxation is hidden. Not only that, but the puzzling cycle of CUET and admission via CSAS (Common Seat Allocation System) also plays a significant role. Most female students from marginalised backgrounds and smaller towns struggle to get a quality education. With new hurdles planted, many end up giving up on their dreams. In an article by Feminism In India (FII), Sharda Dixit, a retired school principal, said:

The problem was especially observed amongst students coming from financially weaker backgrounds, the ones who were not able to avail the pricey coaching and the preparation guidebooks. This led to the exclusion of these students from the race and crushed their dreams underfoot. The CUET is a device to deprive students of their basic right to education.

Another major issue is women’s safety in the city and on campus. Economist Girija Broker estimated in her paper that, “for a 3% annual decrease in the probability of being raped, women attending Delhi University are willing to go to a college in the bottom 50% rather than one in the top 20%”. Broker conducted a survey of 2,700 DU students and observed that most women prefer travelling by car or the metro, even if it costs more or takes more time. On the other hand, bus is the primary form of transportation for men.

All of these studies, articles, and interviews have one thing in common: the university’s acceptance of the existence of a gender gap for the sake of it. Instead of concentrating on the reasons for such a large gender gap, even after 100 years of existence, DU is preoccupied with crafting its own hazy gender equality image. With the gender gap widening as a result of CUET, the question grows, “Are we progressing forward or backward?”

Read also: The Unrepresented- Women and Student Politics In India

Featured Image Credits: TOI

Dhruv Bhati
[email protected]

The newly introduced BTech courses at DU had few takers, leaving many seats vacant. The university decided to conduct spot admissions as a result.

Admission statistics recently rolled in for newly introduced BTech courses at the University of Delhi. These admissions under the Faculty of Technology are based on the JEE Mains score. There have been few takers, as many seats are vacant compared to the authorized capacity. For the computer science course, 20 seats were occupied, while only two seats were filled for electronics and communication, and just one seat was taken for the electrical engineering course. Following this, DU decided to conduct spot admissions.

The seat allotment result for the BTech programs was released on September 11, and colleges will verify applications by September 14. The last date for payment of the admission fee shall remain September 15, and there will be no option to upgrade or withdraw.

Many opinions have been expressed in trying to find an explanation for such low admission numbers. Some teachers have said that the programs aren’t affordable for many because they’re expensive by the standards of a central university. Others say that there is hesitation among students to opt for engineering courses at a university more known for its humanities and commerce departments.

“I was unaware of the BTech courses offered at DU. Nevertheless, I would have still given preference to private engineering colleges with well-established courses and faculty.”

-Vardaan, a first-year student at IIIT-Delhi

Thus, apprehension towards DU’s BTech courses does exist among students, especially since the department is fairly new and will take time to solidify.

A university official also said that BTech admissions for this year had already been completed at other universities while they started late at DU, which is why seats remained vacant. They hope to regularize admissions from next year onward. Perhaps the culmination of all the reasons mentioned is an explanation for the low statistics.

Another aspect of the situation that sparked discussion was the setting up of these courses in the first place. Many are of the opinion that if the administration does want to expand its science-based courses, it must first improve the existing infrastructure for BSc courses.

“When almost every college of the university has infrastructure complaints and science courses are lacking in lab equipment and research prospects, why not focus on investing in these areas?”

-Sanviti, a third-year BSc Microbiology student

Featured image credits: Hindustan Times

Read also: Under the Shadow of DUSU Elections

Arshiya Pathania

[email protected]

Delhi HC has rejected DU’s preference for CLAT instead of CUET for its 5-year law courses. The respondents of the PIL are DU’s Faculty of Law, Vice Chancellor of the University, UGC and Union of India through the Ministry of Education.

 On Thursday, August 17, the Delhi High Court questioned Delhi University on its decision to admit students to its new 5-year integrated law courses based on the Common Legal Admission Test (CLAT-UG) 2023 results. A petition submitted by Prince Singh, a student at DU’s Faculty of Law, challenged the University’s announcement of the 5-year integrated law courses, beginning in the academic year 2023-24. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by him sought admission to these courses through CUET UG 2023, following the directives of the Universities Grant Commission (UGC) for central universities. The Court granted Delhi University and the Centre time until the next hearing on August 25 to file their responses to the petition.

The bench, which included Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula, stated that the Government of India, through the National Education Policy, had decided that admissions to all Central Universities would be done through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) introduced by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and that Delhi University is “not special.”

You are not special. There is a national policy. If 18 other central universities are relying on the CUET scores for admissions, why is DU not doing the same?” the bench remarked.

 The court granted the University’s counsel time to file a counter-affidavit before the next hearing on August 25. The Union of India has also been given time to “file its reply” or seek “appropriate instructions in the matter.” However, the court stressed that if no counter-affidavit is submitted by the next hearing date, the matter will be heard on the question of grant of interim relief.

Delhi University’s counsel, Advocate Mohinder S Rupal, contended that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Yogesh Singh, formed a special committee of specialists, which delivered a detailed report to the Academic and Executive Councils of the University. During the hearing, he argued that the University only launched the 5-year integrated law degree this year and that if a stay is granted on the operation of the August 4 notification, the entire academic year will be wasted. He alleged that DU had not yet provided a schedule or timeline for admissions to its law courses.

It is not as if we are rushing the process. We haven’t started the admission process yet. The University will not issue any advertisement regarding applications for CLAT-based admissions to the 5-year law course till the next date of hearing.”- stated DU’s counsel, Mohinder Rupal.

 The PIL was filed in response to a notification issued by Delhi University on August 4 announcing the introduction of the Five-year Integrated Law Courses- B.A.LLB (Hons.) and BBA.LLB (Hons.), admissions to which would be undertaken by the CLAT scores of the aspirants.

“The Bar Council of India in its letter dated 26.07.2023 has accorded its approval of 60 seats for BA LLB (Hons) and 60 seats for BBA LLB (Hons). Admission to BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons) shall be based on merit in the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) UG 2023 result. The classes for BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons) courses will be held at the Faculty of Law, Kanad Bhawan, North Campus, University of Delhi. The online application for admission to BA LLB (Hons) and BBA LLB (Hons) courses will be announced by the University soon,” stated the notification by Delhi University.

 The petition contended that by issuing this notification, Delhi University has placed a “wholly unreasonable condition” that violates the Right to Equality under Article 14 and the Right to Education under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The plea stressed that CUET is conducted in multiple languages while CLAT is held only in English, which leads to an admission advantage for a specific sub-group at DU’s Faculty of Law.

That the condition imposed for admission to the five-year integrated law courses at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, is wholly unreasonable and arbitrary. It lacks any intelligible differentia and has no rational nexus with the object of admission to the five-year integrated law courses at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi,” the plea by Singh stated.

 

Read Also: Delhi High Court Seeks the Stand of the Centre and University in Opposing the New Admission Criteria – DU Beat – Delhi University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Featured Image Credits: Bar and Bench

 Manvi Goel

[email protected]

 

On 7 August 2023, the first round of seat allotment for UG admissions have been released with over 87% of UG seats secured by students, with Hansraj College witnessing the highest number of registrations. The second round of seat allotment will be released on 10 August for the remaining vacant seats.

In the first round of seat allotment under the CSAS portal for securing UG admissions at Delhi University (DU), the maximum admissions were secured at Hansraj College, Ramjas College and Dyal Singh College. The list was announced on 7 August 2023, with over 87% of UG seats already secured by students. Kirori Mal College witnessed the highest number of total registrations with 1,61,533 registrations followed by Hindu College with 1,58,548 registrations and Hansraj College with 1,57,162 registrations.

According to the data released by the CSAS portal, a total of 85,853 students secured UG admissions at DU. However, 62,008 students paid their fees and secured their seats at DU, among which 53% are female students. 12,733 students have chosen to freeze their allotment with 40,701 opting to upgrade.

The list of vacant seats has been released on the official websites at du.ac.in and admissions.uod.ac.in. The second round of allotment commenced on 7 August 2023 with the display of vacant seats. Students who have opted to upgrade will be given the option to re-order their higher preferences from 7 August to 8 August 2023.

Most of the seats are filled. Only in science courses, around 10% of admissions are left. Earlier, it would take us at least four lists to arrive at the seat scenario that we are witnessing now after the first list”, Manoj Khanna, principal of Ramjas College mentioned in regards to the admission process.

The second round of seat allotment will be declared on 10 August 2023. Selected students will have to accept their allotted between 10 August to 13 August 2023. The third round of seat allotment will be notified by the university. However, depending on the number of vacant seats available for admission, the university may announce additional rounds.

Colleges will be required to approve the online application from 10 August to 14 August 2023. The last date for the online payment of fees by the students is 15 August 2023.

Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Sri Sidhvi Dindi

[email protected]

 

 

 

The University of Delhi announced the launch of its Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal for undergraduate admissions for the academic session of 2023-2024. Along with the launch of the portal, announcements regarding the launch of new B.Tech. courses, the Financial Support Scheme, etc. were also made.

On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, the Delhi University admissions season commenced for undergraduate courses. During a press conference on Wednesday, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Yogesh Singh, launched the CSAS portal for UG admissions for the session 2023-2024. The School of Open Learning (SOL) and Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) admissions portals were launched as well.

The next session for the upcoming batch will begin on August 16. Students who want to apply to Delhi University’s regular programmes must login to the portal with their CUET application number and upload the necessary documents, which include their high school marksheet (12th and 10th grade), valid government ID, and caste certificate or PwD/EWS/CW/KM/Minority certificate, as applicable. Following the release of the CUET results, the next round of admissions will begin. Students will be asked to mention their preferred colleges and courses. Following this, their scores will be used to determine which college and course they will be assigned to.

The candidate must “accept” the seat before the deadline for that round of allocation after a seat has been allocated, according to DU authorities; inactivity or inaction would be considered non-acceptance. Following the completion of each allocation cycle, DU will publish information regarding vacant seats in each course across all colleges. After being accepted, candidates can choose to either upgrade or freeze their allotted seat.

SOL and NCWEB’s admissions procedures, however, differ. Class 12th results are required for admission to UG programmes at SOL and NCWEB. Candidates interested in enrolling in these programmes must first register on the CSAS site before uploading their necessary documents. The forms for the same are available on the websites of these institutes.

Vice Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh also announced the launch of three new B.Tech. programmes: computer science and engineering, electronics and communication engineering, and electrical engineering, along with the launch of the UG admissions portal.

DU is also introducing a financial support scheme (FSS) to extend the benefits of equity and access to quality education to students from economically weaker sections (EWS) for the B.Tech. programmes.

– Prof. Yogesh Singh, DU Vice Chancellor

A B.Tech. student at DU can get a reimbursement of 50,000 for new laptops, he added. Additionally, he mentioned including a new quota for orphan students. The Vice Chancellor further stated,

Candidates whose parents’ income is ₹4 lakh or less will be given a 90% fee waiver and between ₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh will be given a 50% waiver. The university has also included a supernumerary quota for orphan students this year and all DU affiliated colleges will admit two candidates (one male and one female) under this quota at both UG and postgraduate (PG) levels.

In the final week of June, the portal for postgraduate (PG) course admissions will go live. The registration process for PG admissions will also be on similar grounds.

Read Also: DU to Conduct PhD Admissions via CUET from Academic Session 2023-2024

Featured Image Credits: Careers 360

Dhruv Bhati
[email protected]

The Executive Council of the University of Delhi passed a resolution on 9th June, 2023 to conduct PhD admissions into the university via CUET from the upcoming academic year, 2023-24. Alongside this major decision, several other resolutions were adopted in the meeting, including those pertaining to the initiation of the five-year LLB programme.

This is the first time the university will be inducting students into its PhD programmes through a common test instead of conducting written tests and interviews.

“PhD admission will be done on the basis of CUET (PhD)-2023 based on the recommendation of the Standing Committee of the Academic Council, after deliberations on various matters related to admission and attendance of Undergraduate, Postgraduate and PhD programmes for the academic session 2023-24, the same were also accepted by the Executive Council (EC),” read the university statement. 

The University had started conducting undergraduate and postgraduate admission via CUET-UG and CUET-PG since last year. The PhD entrance test will be through the national-based CUET-PhD (2023), conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA). However, teaching and non-teaching  candidates serving in the university can directly appear for interviews. The University also added that the teaching and non-teaching staff must be permitted to attend classes and take examinations without affecting the duties assigned during office hours. Such rules for PhD will be applicable from the academic session 2023-24.

Apart from this, several other resolutions were passed at the Executive Council meeting. The eligibility condition and seat matrix recommendations of the Medical Science Course Admissions Committee (MCAC) for admission to undergraduate MBBS/BDS courses for the admission session 2023-24 were also approved. It was also decided that MSc admission to the Respiratory Therapy programme will also be under CUET-PG 2023.

The resolution to set up the Centre for Independence and Partition Studies, passed in the 1014th Academic Council meeting of the university was also approved on Friday. The centre will focus on researching about unsung heroes and freedom movements that have not found a place in mainstream history textbooks along with the tragedies and horrors of the partition.

The Council has also given approval for the formation of Tribal Studies Centre that shall be a multi-disciplinary centre focusing on various tribes of India. Additionally, establishment of Hindu Studies Centre was also passed by the EC. A Master of Arts Programme in Hindu Studies will be started under this Centre. The Council also approved to run the Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) from the academic session 2023-24 which will be a four-year long course.

DU’s Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Mahila College, Mata Sundari Mahavidyalaya and Jesus and Mary College have been granted approval for ITEP by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) from the session 2023-24. The education department of DU and eight colleges running B El Ed course will
apply for ITEP course for the academic year 2024-2025.

With major changes occurring in the admission process as well as university programmes, the students can only hope for a smooth and unhampered experience.

Read Also: Delhi University to Introduce B.Tech Courses Starting August.

Featured Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Priyanka Mukherjee
[email protected]

 

Delhi University yet again is at loggerheads with its minority-administered south campus Jesus and Mary College on the decision to do away with the interview in the upcoming admission season for its minority students.  Delhi University cannot take over admissions under Minority quota, states JMC plea.

Jesus and Mary College has filed a High Court petition in an effort to overturn Delhi University’s decision about the admission procedure for the academic year 2023-2024. According to a notification released by the University on December 30, 2022, The Executive Council of Delhi University made a decision to give admissions at both UG and PG levels solely on the basis of Common University Entrance Test (CUET) score. This policy also covers admissions under reserved categories and minority quotas. As confirmed by numerous other sources, the university intends to use only CUET scores as the only criterion for admission regardless of any category.

Conflicting views have emerged between the minority colleges and the University as a result of this decision. Advocate Romy Chacko advances JMC’s argument which states that is in clear violation of Article 30, of the Constitution of India to insist on giving 100 per cent weightage to CUET scores under the 50 per cent minority quotas.

Minorities have the fundamental right to establish and administer educational institutions under Article 30. Hence, the plea declares that University cannot interfere with their right or take absolute control of admissions as it is Ultra vires ( an act beyond one’s legal capacity or authority ) and unconstitutional.

A similar concern was raised by St. Stephens in September 2022 which sparked a legal battle between the college and the University where the college wanted to conduct interviews for the admission process apart from the CUET scores. In their plea, St. Stephens insisted on giving 85 per cent to CUET scores and the rest 15 per cent to its interview round for non-Christian applicants. While they stressed this was their right as a minority institution to take decisions independently, The High Court ordered the college to concentrate only on CUET merit for admitting non-minority students adding that the interview process can be carried out for the minority students. The college appealed the High Court decision to the Supreme Court after that.

The JMC plea makes a reference to this High Court decision dated September 12 and notes that while the St. Stephens case is still pending with the Supreme Court, this decision of the Executive Council is in conflict with the previous High Court Judgement and suffers from ‘total non-application of mind’.

On Tuesday, the matter was listed before a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad. The Delhi High Court is now set to hear this plea by Jesus and Mary College on May 24, 2023. Notices for the same have been sent to Delhi University and UGC.

Read Also: St. Stephen’s Supreme Council Row Escalates, Delhi High Court Seeks Response

Image Credits – Jesus and Mary official website

Priya Agrawal

[email protected]

Delhi University intends to replace the current B.El.Ed. degree with an integrated course for teachers’ education in compliance with NEP 2020. The move, which is expected to be implemented from July 2023 onward, has been met with opposition from faculty members who have questioned the reasoning behind it.

The Bachelor of Elementary Education (B.El.Ed.) degree at Delhi University is due to be replaced with a new programme beginning this year, the Integrated Teacher’s Education Programme (ITEP), a new four-year course that is expected to commence in July. It will offer the B.A.B.Ed., B.Sc.B.Ed., and B.Com. courses. Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary (5+3+3+4): the new school structure laid out in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will be followed to train teachers henceforth.

We will be scrapping B.El.Ed. and bringing in ITEP. For this year, we will run both programmes parallelly. Both can’t run together because teachers are limited; we are not getting new teachers from the government. We are looking at starting ITEP this July, and if there is a positive response, B.El.Ed will be automatically scrapped.

-DU registrar Vikas Gupta, in conversation with The Indian Express

Four colleges under the University of Delhi have applied for the programme. Three of them—Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College, Jesus and Mary College, and Mata Sundri College—will launch the new programme this year following approval from the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE). The rationale given behind the scrapping of the B.El.Ed. programme is the implementation of NEP and the objective of transformational improvements in the education system.

Every course has its durability. For instance, now that NEP has come into effect, the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) has automatically ended. Existing teachers are qualified; they will teach the new course. Colleges have provided a list of teachers, post which the NCTE has given its approval.

-DU registrar Vikas Gupta, in conversation with The Indian Express

According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), a flagship programme of NCTE under NEP 2020, the ITEP will be launched in 57 Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) from the academic session 2023–24.

This integrated course will benefit students since they will save one year by finishing the course in 4 years rather than the customary 5 years required by the present B.Ed. plan… The course will contribute substantially to the revitalization of the whole teacher education sector.

– statement issued by PBI on March 4, 2023

Reportedly, teachers have expressed concern about the decision and questioned the need for its scrapping considering it is a “popular course with a high placement record.” The Department of Elementary Education hosted a meeting last week wherein faculty members urged the University and the governing board to reconsider the decision. Teachers agreed with the implementation of ITEP in light of more extensive reforms to teacher education in accordance with the NEP. However, they insisted that it should be an addition rather than a replacement to the existing curriculum. According to The Indian Express, teachers and educationists at the meeting called the ITEP a “pedagogically and academically flawed programme.”

What is the rationale for removing one course to start another? B.EL.Ed. is the first and only professional degree programme that prepares teachers for elementary classes (I-VIII), mandated under the Right to Education Act. It weaves together general and professional education. ITEP, on the other hand, is designed as a 3+1 programme, where 3 years is focused on general education and one year for professional training.

-Prof. Maya John, a member of DU’s academic council, in conversation with The Quint

The B.El.Ed. programme was launched in 1994 by Delhi University and is currently offered in eight colleges. It was the first integrated teacher programme for elementary education that an Indian university had ever provided.

The B.El.Ed. programme, with its interdisciplinary approach and integration of general and professional education, has successfully trained over 8,000 teachers, in consonance with the Constitutionally mandated Right to Education Act.

-Prof. Poonam Batra, a retired DU professor who co-created the B.El.Ed. programme

Teachers have questioned the justification for the implementation of ITEP, claiming it is “inadequate” to provide the requisite skills.

The ITEP programme provides only one-year professional training following three years of general education (BA/BSc), which is inadequate to equip teachers with the necessary knowledge and capacities for teaching diverse levels and classrooms. Imposition of ITEP goes against university statutes that protect the university’s autonomy to design curricula.

-Prof. Poonam Batra added

Pankaj Arora, Dean of the Department of Education, disagreed with this assertion and claimed that the “new course caters to the needs of the new structure as envisaged by NEP.”

The new course is a dual degree course. This will allow vertical mobility because it has multiple entry and exit points. This means that if students complete three years and leave, they will still get their degrees. Moreover, they go on to pursue their Masters and will even be eligible for Ph.D. under the new Ph.D. regulations.

-Dr. Pankaj Arora, Dean of the Department of Education

Read also : Demand Raised for Permanent Principal in SBSEC (Evening) – DU Beat – Delhi University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Featured Image Credits : The Indian Express

Manvi Goel
[email protected]

Delhi University is all set to inaugurate its Faculty of Technology, which is expected to commence admissions to three engineering courses from this year onwards.

Delhi University’s senior officials stated that with official clearances now in place, the University’s eagerly anticipated Faculty of Technology is ready to start accepting students for the upcoming academic session. DU’s statutory authority had approved three engineering courses—B. Tech. in Computer Science, Electronics and Communication, and Electrical Engineering—in December 2021. However, because of pending approvals on staffing, funding, and other elements, the University had been unable to launch the programmes. Now, admission to the programmes will be based on the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE) Mains. According to the current plans, each engineering branch will have around 120 students. These will be further divided into two sections.

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh reportedly told the Times of India that the central government has sanctioned both teaching and non-teaching roles. These sanctions, he continued, have come after nearly two decades.

“The government has approved the posts that the University had sought. Around 72 teaching posts and 48 non-teaching posts have been sanctioned by the Centre. Admissions to the three programmes will start from the upcoming academic session as all the required approvals, including those from the University Grants Commission, are now in place.” – DU Vice Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh

The Vice Chancellor added that despite the finalization of the land for construction of the new building for the faculty of technology, construction has not started yet. Therefore, initially, the University will look for an alternative building to hold classes. In a couple of years, these will be moved to the new building on the North Campus itself.

A senior official added that the University is currently in the process of introducing multiple new centres and programmes, but the Faculty of Technology is a priority.

“The building plans, layout structure and location for the new building have all been approved. We are waiting for financial assistance from the HEFA (Higher Education Funding Agency) and are hopeful that a number of things will materialise by May. The target set for completing the new building is two years.” – a senior official at DU

A new medical college is another project the university is considering, in addition to a variety of other programmes like a five-year LLB programme.

“While the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute is already there, we are exploring the possibility of opening a new medical college under DU. This is at a nascent stage. Initially, discussions need to be held with the Centre and especially the ministry of health.”- DU Registrar Vikas Gupta

With the report for the five-year LLB programme likely to be submitted to the University next week, the Vice Chancellor also commented on the varsity’s plans to construct law campuses at Surajmal Vihar and Dwarka in the near future.

Read also: DU Panel Advisory Proposes Ways to Strengthen Security in Colleges

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat

Manvi Goel
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