Latest
DU Beat – Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper
Tag

DU

Browsing
DUB Speak

Lack of Psychology courses in DU: A Blot on University’s Academics

By

Despite being an important subject, the lack of Honors courses available in Psychology, Delhi University proves that psychology is still not accepted and recognized as a worthy bachelor’s degree.

Psychology as a subject has the power to help you grow as an individual and also help others grow. It is filled with concepts on human beings, stories and examples we can relate to and also interesting topics about which we can talk to with our friends. But what is unfortunate that only eleven colleges in the prestigious University of Delhi offer B.A. (Honors) Psychology as a course and three offer B.A. (Honors) in Applied Psychology.

This restricts the opportunities for students to pursue this subject. The cut offs go very high for the few good colleges offering this course. While, for a male student, this situation is even worse since majority of the colleges offering Psychology are only open to girls, so they have to either compromise on the course or despite having a good score, study in private institutes. According to a source who requested to be anonymous, he scored a 96.75 but still couldn’t get Psychology in Delhi University and is pursuing B.Sc. (Honors) Psychology from Christ University, Bangalore.

Apart from this, most of the colleges are unable to offer Psychology as a General Elective, and when they do, due to the lack of faculty, many times the classes get cancelled. In Lady Shri Ram College, girls who took Psychology as an Elective for the first semester reported that the it was extremely disappointing. A student quoted “We were allotted a teacher somewhere in last August and even this semester we have gotten a guest lecturer who taught from Wikipedia, it was pretty basic and did not feel like a Psychology class.” In Gargi College, Psychology is not offered as a General Elective despite having a department for Applied Psychology.

By lack of Facilities in Delhi University for this essential subject, the University is proving the general discourse prevalent in the society regarding Humanities courses that- “they are courses specifically for girls.” The larger, older and renowned colleges like Miranda House, Hansraj, Hindu and Sri Venkateswara do not offer Psychology at all. It is high time that this course is given the importance and attention that it deserves and the University introduces it in the other colleges as well.

Feature Image credits: The Indian Express

Shivani Dadhwal

[email protected]

Sakshi Arora

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Beyond the Obvious of Delhi University Colleges

Neither Black, nor White: The Scheming with Love

By

A gentle reminder that every import from the west carries with it complex implications for a society as diverse and traditional as ours.

Among other things, Delhi University (DU) students very often boast about the kind of diversity their respective colleges enjoy. In every section of every course, there will be those who attend classes and those who don’t. Keeping the simplistic distinction aside, a safe assumption would be that all of us have known people across religions, states, and economic and social classes. Hence, Valentine’s Day too is a messy affair in this diversity of possibilities and options.

In the Indian context, the warring ideas emerge as that of hyper-capitalism and traditionalism which ultimately result in a rather interesting scenario. The whole week leading up to the 14th of February becomes larger than life, as we’re bombarded with manufactured images and products that define love in the 21st century. The capitalists controlling us carefully create customised needs and, through the course of the week, manipulate us into believing that we needed those things in the first place. Friends who are in relationships are aware of this manipulation and yet feel compelled to take part in it.

Capitalism scheming functions in such efficient ways that the expenditure is almost always considered directly proportional to the amount of love. To extend this scheme of manipulation beyond their target market, marketers are now also dictating how single people should spend this day. Quotes expressing the importance of self-love are splashed across hoardings leading you to believe that your consumption will instantly solve all of your problems and you will live “singly-ever-after”.

This complete rejection of Valentine’s Day, owing to its hyper commercialization, is increasingly becoming a dominant perspective. As students are becoming increasingly aware of the pressures influencing their consumption habits, they are becoming more immune to its effect.  How many actually make the effort to exist outside of this system is unknown, but the realisation of the fact that it’s happening is growing. While this understanding is necessary in the long run, it also springs from a very specific group of people. For this group, the idea of Valentine’s Day itself is very ordinary. It’s in a way suggestive of their privilege, which allows them to go beyond the idea of V-day and focus more on a larger global trend.

However, this idea of freely expressing love is extraordinary and even exciting for some. When you look beyond Delhi and into smaller towns, more specifically smaller towns with saffron skies, Valentine’s Day becomes much more significant. These are places where young people are regularly morally policed and not given spaces to freely interact and behave like young people with will and desires. In suffocated environments like these, you can see why Valentine’s Day would stand out as special. It’s almost an invitation for rebellion. Despite their circumstances, to keep the spirit of the day alive, young people venture out to spend their time in public spaces. Claiming to save our country from western influences and adding communal flavor in the form of Love Jihad, extremist groups inflict violence year-after-year on these youngsters.

The real story of the commercialisation of this day can be traced back to the time when it reached the same small towns. Year-after-year, more coffee houses and shopping complexes were being decorated with heart-shaped balloons. The extremists couldn’t multiply faster than the capitalists and, in the end, they were outnumbered. There were too many balloons to burst and the religion of profit-making became more lucrative than the rage of vigilantism. This is not to suggest that capitalism will solve conservatism, but is just to lend to a more rounded idea of Valentine’s Day and the significance it holds in parallel India’s narrative.

Image Credits: Bustle

Pragati Thapa

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
DUB News

 Increased Seats for Economically Weaker Sections

By

The DU administration rules on implementing and increasing the economically weaker section (EWS) quota by 25%, leading to 6550 more seats across all colleges.

The Delhi University has decided to increase the total number of seats available to students from EWS background by 25%. This increment will be seen taking place in two steps- first, seeing a 10% increase, i.e. 2620 seats and the other, 15% i.e. 3930 seats. This plan shall see that the new academic year will see 6550 more seats for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Another agenda that was brought up during the meeting of the admission committee was that of developing a mechanism to avoid duplication of registration data, and to finish admission procedure before the academic session starts. This would mark a serious change as the admission process goes on a long while after the teaching already starts, and this could suggest that the admission for DU courses might begin earlier than before.

There will be a centralised admission process under the ‘children/widow of armed forces’ category, as last year DU had increased the sub-divisions within this category, causing problems and technical errors in finalising the admissions quickly.

The committee has also decided that in order to make the admission process simpler they will upload a tutorial video on the official website that will help the students by showing them how to fill the form and perform other functions. There will also be dummy forms filled on the website to show the students the proper way of doing the same. The chairman of the committee, Rajeev Gupta, said in a press release- “Usually applicants apply through cyber cafes. This often creates a problem for them as multiple mistakes happen, which often don’t get rectified.”

However, the ideas aren’t off to a great start as the university administration missed the 31st January deadline for providing the details on how the seats will be added, the money that will be required, and other such details for the phase one i.e. the 10% increase. The admission committee members were not available for a comment on the same.

Image Credits: Tribhuvan Tiwari for DU Beat

Haris khan

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Bazinga: DU to Install Centrally Air Conditioned Systems in Colleges

By

Delhi University to ensure centrally air conditioned campuses, due to the growing climate concerns.

Delhi University issued a statement on the 7th of January, 2019 that it will instal central air conditioners in all the college campuses. The proposal is set to be in motion from the new academic year (July onwards). On a trial basis, a few select colleges will have these installed. Depending on the affect or reaction of the college community, this measure will be taken on a full-fledged mode.

The reason, issued earlier, is the shifting climatic conditions. With the northern India witnessing a cold wave, it is expected that the summers will be as scorching as ever. Heena Garg, a student of Maitreyi College says, “The college infrastructure, especially the ventilation is a big problem in classrooms. The rooms are very stuffy and it creates a lot of problems in the hot summer months. The fans do not work properly. It results in a lot of discomfort among students.” A lot of private universities have already adopted the centrally conditioned system in their campuses. Infrastructure is still a major issue faced by a lot of Government or state based colleges.

Professor Yogesh Tyagi, the 22nd Vice Chancellor of Delhi University, expresses his views on this decision, “It is about time the Delhi University improves its infrastructural facilities. Addition of the centrally conditioned campus will be a major boost for the University and will benefit the students and staff.”

With the rising levels of pollution and lack of pure air in the Capital’s air index, a lot of households are also shifting to centrally treated air conditioning. Their growth in the Indian markets has been very restricted as compared to that of their western counterparts, where every house is already centrally conditioned. India is lagging behind in this lifestyle concern as its affordability is restricted only to the rich.

Apeksha Jain, a second year B.Com. student of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College comments, “In a city which has such extreme climates, DU’s decision for central air conditioning is a really good one. it will improve campus engagement and attraction, and improve the existing infrastructural conditions of the university.” While some of the colleges in DU provide air conditioned classes to its students, the call is for a campus wide change for the better.

 

Feature Image credits: Interact Classroom

Avnika Chhikara

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Academic Council Claim Recommendations not Considered by DU

By

The Academic Council claims that its recommendations have not been considered by DU, which has allegedly made the teachers unhappy.

On 1st of January 2019, a day before the meeting of the Academic Council (AC), several of its members claimed that the administration of University of Delhi has decided to not take the recommendations suggested by them into consideration. According to them, many of its recommendations have been missing from the Academic Council meeting’s agenda.

The University of Delhi, on the UGC’s notification, dated 18th of July 2018, had formed a 20-member committee to frame ordinances and statutes for promotions of 3,500 teachers, beginning with professorship in colleges and maternity leaves for ad hoc teachers, among many other issues. The committee was constituted so that it could look into the University Grants Commission Regulations, so that it could be implemented by the varsity. Following approval from the Academic Council, the concerning matter is sent to the executive council.

DU had called a meeting of the Academic Council, one of the statutory bodies of the varsity on the 12th of December 2018 which got postponed to the 2nd of January 2019. The reason behind this, according to some teachers, was that the administration kept on passing the University Grants Commission Regulations 2018 out of the meeting’s agenda. The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) had also expressed its concern regarding the postponement of the meeting with the Vice Chancellor YogeshTyagi in a letter dated 11th of December 2018. It had also stated that the regulations had to be adopted within six months of the gazette notification and amendments made accordingly.

On 28th of November 2018, the Committee had submitted its report after meeting ten times for two months to decide on the modalities of the regulations.

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi’s (DU) Official Website

Disha Saxena
Keep Reading
By
DUB Speak

A take on Safety in North Campus

By

In light of recent events, safety in North Campus has been proven fragile. But even the failure in this test has not incentivized the necessary authoritative action.

 

Delhi University’s North Campus is famously known for its prestigious colleges. Some of the best colleges in the country are all smattered in close vicinity to each other. But in recent months, the same area has come to be known for its increasing crime rates.

 

On 2nd December, a tragic incident happened in the campus at nightfall. The incident started doing rounds on social media in a couple of days, to the utter disbelief and outrage of all students and residents of North Campus alike.

In the Facebook post, shared by multiple people, the following message was broadcasted:
“With utmost shock and anger, we inform you that our dear friend, Sandipan, a PhD student of Delhi School of Economics, was attacked by a couple of phone snatchers with knife late night on 2nd December. He was stabbed multiple times and is now admitted at Hindu Rao Hospital. The incident happened on the Naala bridge at Patel Chest. This is just opposite the Maurice Nagar Police Station.”
Pointedly, the area in question is a frequently visited place by all students in North Campus. A huge number of students reside around the area and so, the famous food outlets of North Campus are accessed via the same road. However, the incident raises questions on the presumed comforts and safety of the area, that the students expect before they take up expensive lodgings there.

 

The post continued, “Despite giving the number of the bike to the police, no action has yet been taken. The incident and the police inaction is telling of how dangerous our own campus has become.”

 

Multiple cases of phones being snatched have been reported by students. Within the first week of the commencement of college, a student of Hindu College lost her phone to the self-same phone-snatchers. Another student of Hindu College, on her way back from Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station to her PG in Shakti Nagar said, “I was sitting in a rickshaw with three other friends. The rickshaw came to a halt in front of Daulat Ram College where two men on a bike rushed past us and took away my phone.” The incident was traumatic for her to recount later.

 

As reported by DU Beat earlier, Aashish Jain, a student of Kirori Mal College (KMC) recalled the incident when his mobile phone was snatched. “I was right outside the college gate when I was on a call,” he said, adding that he hadn’t realised that people on motorbikes were keeping a watchful eye on him. “I disconnected the call, and was going to put the phone in my pocket when one of them snatched it from my hand and ran off on their motorbike.”

 

Unfortunately, safety is not a concern because of these material losses alone. Safety of girls is as always only an agenda in the pompous manifestos of all political parties. A student recalled being stalked by a group of men in their car when she was returning from her college one evening. Such stories are far from uncommon. It is sad that we should demand for gender-specific safety in such an eminent area.

 

Casual sexism and misogyny that all of us observe everyday go on to show that legal action in seclusion cannot ensure safety of women. We need a more ‘human’ approach towards the issue. Calling out such abominable behaviour is our resistance. It is ironic how an area that is marked for its institutions and their excellence, should be called out for its degrading safety measures.
“Delhi Police must immediately book the perpetrators,” notes the same Facebook post (aforementioned). “DU administration and the Delhi Police must ensure safety of students around the campus and around every college of DU.”
The inaction of the authorities can easily be explained in their inability to apprehend the perpetrators as yet. It is high time that proper action is taken. The ignorance towards these seemingly petty crimes may prove more harmful otherwise.

 

Feature Image Credits: Dailymail

 

 

Kartik Chauhan

[email protected]

 

 

Keep Reading
By
Campus Central

Moment of Reckoning: DU Accredited ‘A+’ NAAC Ranking

By

The University of Delhi has been awarded ‘A+’ grade with a corresponding cumulative grade point average of 3.28 by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council .

 

One of the most prestigious universities in the country, the University of Delhi has come to its reckoning with the  National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading. After a comprehensive evaluation of various departments from across the varsity, it has been accorded an ‘A+’ by the NAAC.

The cumulative grade point average (CGPA) for A++ accreditation is between 3.51 to 4.  As per an official, the council review was held in the last week of October. Last year, the Jawaharlal Nehru University was ranked “A++” in the NAAC review. The council grading is crucial for funds and grants allotted to a varsity by the University Grants Commission.

 

As reported  by the Press Trust of India, a detailed questionnaire assessing a multitude of aspects- from inclusivity to flexibility or rigidity in practising rules in the colleges were sent to the Department Heads across the varsity ahead of the official NAAC visit. There were 103 questions in total. Does the DU department celebrate national festivals or observe birth and death anniversaries of great Indian personalities; Is there a policy in place to check plagiarism were some of the questions in the questionnaire.
The accreditation is as per the Revised Accreditation and Assessment Framework launched by the NAAC in July 2017, which represents an explicit paradigm shift in the accreditation process, making it ICT enabled, objective, transparent, scalable and, robust, DU said in a statement. As reported by The Indian Express, the primary focus of the shift is from qualitative peer judgment to data-based quantitative indicator evaluation with increased objectivity and transparency. These include combination of online evaluation (about 70 per cent) and peer judgment (about 30 per cent), it added. DU has been accredited (First Cycle) with a CGPA 3.28 with A+ Grade, valid for a period of 5 years from November 30, the statement said.

 

With inputs from The Indian Express.

 

Feature Image Credits: India TV

Kartik Chauhan

[email protected]

 

Keep Reading
By
Uncategorized

BAZINGA: DU Makes Clearing Dope Test Mandatory to get Admit Card

By

Kunal has been sober for two days now. He has begun to identify things and people around him. The hazy pictures that used to form on his nearly-damaged retina, have assumed, all of a sudden, a 4K definition. He now remembers things,  breathes in fresher air (although that is a rare finding in Delhi), uses ice only to cool his soft drinks and paper only to wrap his chicken rolls in. All of this has happened because of one ruling. One sheet of paper has apparently changed his life.

Getting admit cards embodies a joy in itself. The sudden realisation of the fact that it is that time of the year when you begin to regret each and every jubilation you were a part of, that time you regret each and every puff of smoke and sip of that luxurious cocktail that you had in that fancy pub. Earlier, this used to be a metaphoric manifestation. However, this semester onwards, the University of Delhi has been gracious enough to make things even more tough for survival.

Short attendance may be handled through some politically active ‘bhaiyyas’ arranging for an affidavit. But the varsity has recently made the passing of dope tests a mandatory requirement for all students in order to lay their hands on their crisp black and white admission ticket. It is now compulsory to not only appear for dope tests but also to pass them with flying colours.

The decision comes after Ms. Anoushka S., an activist filed a PIL with the Honorable Court of University Justice, citing the bad effects that alcohol and drugs have on their health as well as lifestyle. Justice Gaitonde, the judge adjudicating over the case, says “As a student, I never got the time or the opportunity to experience what all of this feels like. When Ms Anoushka put in the PIL, it hit my wildest insecurities. Therefore, I decided to deliver an unbiased verdict in the matter, and hence, the ban.”

The verdict has received mix response from the students. It is estimated that around 39 percent of the student body shall be bereft of their admit cards due to this ban.

Note: DU Beat or the author does not, in any way, encourage or support the consumption of narcotics, and shall not be liable in any way for the same.

Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only meant to be appreciated, not accepted.

Feature Image Credits: The Evening Standard

Aashish Jain

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

Zero Fee to be Paid for Revaluation of Scripts

By

In a trophy decision for the student fraternity, the University has waived off the fee that used to be charged for revaluation of the answer scripts of the students subsequent to the declaration of the End-Semester Examinations.

In an unprecedented decision coming out from the High Court of the national capital, it has been proclaimed that the University shall waive off all the fee that was erstwhile charged for the revaluation of the answer scripts, making things easy for the always financially insecure student fraternity.

The court refuses to stay the validity of the Central Information Commission (CIC) order, that allowed the scrutiny of answer scripts through Right to Information (RTI), and instead, plans to undertake a deeper look at the order passed by the council. To ensure that a proper channel is followed, the court also waived off the fee that the University used to charge for the purpose. The court plans to question the right of the students to seek inspection of scripts on a later date. January 30, 2019, has been allotted as the next date of hearing on the matter.

In the light of an RTI filed in the month of September, 2018, the decision comes as a financial set-back for the University, which accrued revenues of around INR three crores between the sessions 2015-16 and 2017-18, through fee levied on the students for revaluation of scripts and charges levied for handing over Xerox copies of the answer scripts to the students.

The case was born when two years ago, in 2016, when a former law student at the Varsity demanded the scrutiny of his evaluated scripts through an RTI petition. The matter dragged in the court for two years, but failed to gather pace. Hence, the student was compelled to move to the CIC, which delivered the verdict in the student’s favour, allowing him the inspection of his scripts as it is prescribed under Section 2(j) of the Indian Right to Information- “larger public interest”.

With figures input from IANS.

Feature Image Credits – DU Beat

Aashish Jain

[email protected]

Keep Reading
By
News

Students’ Welfare Deputy Dean Removed; Suspicions in Baisoya’s Case

By

Members of the Academic Council and the Executive Council allege the removal of the Dean to be linked with the ‘fake marksheet’ case of Ankiv Baisoya.

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report was prepared in 2017, according to which various guidelines pertaining to the deputation procedures had been violated by the University of Delhi (DU), leading to the existence of unauthorised positions in. The officials employed in the said posts were receiving unauthorised payments. There were allegations that no circulars had been published in Employment News or presented to colleges, for the vacancies in 11 posts.

According to a report in the Times of India, on Monday, 1st October 2018, Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, Deputy Dean of Students’ Welfare (DSW) approached the finance offer with regard to the fact that he had not been paid his salary. Allegedly, the finance officer informed him of the DU administration’s decision to stop the payment as Tuteja was asked to resign from the post. As per the Times of India report, the former deputy Dean finally received his salary after approaching the registrar’s office in the company of senior members of the Academic and the Executive Council. The reasons cited for this by the DU administration include the aforementioned CAG report, which also included the statements that the deputy and the joint Deans of Students’ Welfare had overstayed at their positions.

Accounts from various reports suggest that several members of Academic Council and Executive Council have alleged the follow-up actions to be a farce for preventing an efficient and just course of action in the investigation of the ‘fake marksheet’ case of the newly elected President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), Ankiv Baisoya. He has been under the microscope ever since the allegations of him providing a fake marksheet for his graduation started surfacing, earlier last month. In a recent turn of events, DU has received a letter from Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore, which stated that Baisoya’s marksheets were inauthentic and the latter had no association with the University. The DU admission panel had sought to look into the matter, but no official updates have been released by the DU administration on this case since then.

As per reports, Tuteja has been asked to join as a professor in Zakir Husain Delhi College where he earlier taught Mathematics.  Many members of the Academic Council and Executive Council members raised questions on the ongoing nature of the functioning of the DU administration. As cited in the Times of India report dated 1st October 2018, one of the Academic Council members informed that the Delhi University administration asked the principal of Zakir Hussain College to wait at the college so that Tuteja could complete his rejoining procedure.

DU Beat contacted Gurpeet Singh Tuteja regarding the same, but he refused to comment.

Anushree Joshi

[email protected]

Anoushka Sharma

[email protected]

 

 

Keep Reading
By