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AISA to hold referendum on FYUP on 22nd August

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All India Students’ Association (AISA) will hold a referendum on the new FYUP on 22nd of August.

The number of protests has been increasing with the introduction of the FYUP into the scene and teachers as well as students have been remonstrating from the very inception. After the hot off press demurral by AISA at north campus, they have resolved to hold a referendum on 22nd August, Thursday. The big idea behind this mandate is to know what exactly students think of the new programme.

Harshvardhan, Secretary of Delhi University AISA, acquainted, “It’s the first time in Delhi University that such a referendum is coming into being. Our proposition behind this poll is to reach out to maximum people in the university and voice out their opinion in this regard”.  With such an episode, AISA is raising concern over the syllabus of many subjects under FYUP and students’ reaction over the matter. “We are trying to have a desk for casting votes at many spots including North campus colleges and some South campus colleges too.”  added Harshvardhan.

The balloters will counter ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on voting chits, which will be provided by the AISA. The result and harvest of the poll will be acknowledged to Dinesh Singh, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor. Ramjas College, Kirori Mal College, Hans Raj, Hindu and Miranda House are some of the colleges of North and Deshbandhu College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Ramjas college and Sri Venkateswara College are some of the South Campus colleges where the party is planning to put up the poll booths, with a total of 16-17 colleges in focus.

For the purpose of monitoring the mandate in colleges, committees will be made comprising of the students (mainly I year students) and some teachers of their respective colleges.

Along with the referendum, the party is conducting a signature campaign with a target of collecting over 10,000 signatures. A hard copy of these signatures will be submitted to the President of India and other appropriate authorities. Under this campaign, the party is getting sound response and has already been aggregated over 2000 signatures.

In the picture: A poster from the AISA protests in May.

Image Credit: Official website of AISA

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AISF protests against FYUP in Delhi University

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Yet another protest against the newly introduced Four Year Undergraduate Programme took place at North Campus on Wednesday, 7th August by AISF or the All India Students Federation.  The dharna started out from the Arts Faculty and marched till the Vice Chancellor’s residence, and also commenced a public meeting later.

The protest had participants from across the university – from students to teachers to administrative staff. Their motive was to question the very existence of the FYUP and its implementation by boycotting classes. The main questions they addressed covered several problems of the FYUP that its critics have been citing since last year – from promises of BTech degrees and Laptops to compulsory non honours courses. AISF also raised a major question on the integrity of Delhi University Students Union, dominated mainly by members of the ABVP and NSUI, which has largely remained silent on issues relating to the FYUP.

The protests marked exactly two weeks of the commencement of the new system, and seemed to have impacted the University administration in a manner that seemed relatively stronger than some of the protests before this. It’s level of participation, infact, is reflective of the fact that many in the University can’t see the benefits of the FYUP that the University officials initially promised.

Image Credit: Priyam

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First year students to get laptops by the end of September

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For all those wondering where the laptops that were part of the large FYUP reform in the university are, there is news. Laptops have already started being distributed amongst students with disabilities through the University’s Equal Opportunities Cell, which has been known for its endurance and commitment towards the welfare of both faculty and students with disability of all kind. So far, 484 laptops have already been distributed in almost more than fifty colleges. Colleges like Kirori Mal are also holding functions for the distribution of these laptops.

These laptops – Lenovo or specifically, Thinkpads – have a variety of accessible software to make technology easier to use for students with disabilities. They use software like JAWS for students with visual impairment along with other screen readers and open source software that make mathematics easy for students with disabilities. They are also equipped with sound-to-text convertors for students with hearing impairments and give students the space to assign keys for certain commands in case they are unable to use both hands. Students will keep these laptops till the end of their college term.

As for other students of the general category, the laptops will be not distributed before September this year. At the inauguration ceremony of the media laboratory at Kalindi College, Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh said that all first year students will have personal laptops that the university promised by the end of September.

Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net

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Campus Central

Study material for Foundation Courses to be available online

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With the colleges finally reopening  and the freshers looking forward to the orientation sessions, enthused and all pepped up, here’s the new buzz with all the information about the Foundation Courses that the University wants to fill you in with.

In the changes that seem to be toppling the world for some and making it a better place for others under the four year under graduate program, we will now have specially prepared Study Material for the foundation courses which will be launched in the coming weeks. Translations in Hindi of the same would also be available. The content allows the student to push himself/herself a step further to supplement the daily knowledge with tasks prescribed which are to be undertaken at home.  Study Material for MIL and other languages are available at the concerned department.

For providing  a better and a more innovative mode of learning, more than 1250 teachers have attended Orientation workshops at CPDHE, in order  to adapt to the new pedagogy of participative learning.  In order to get a hands on experience with the working of these modules, a master class for a batch of about 40 students was held on 16-17th July 2013 at which sample modules by eminent scholars were offered.

Finally, in what seems like a respite, the small corner behind your readers, prescribing some essential readings for all , which  for most of us meant- the  additional and failed task of trying to get them from somewhere and eventually not laying our hands on them, will not be a hassle anymore. The libraries in colleges and on campus will now be equipped with the same. Adding to these, Institute of Lifelong Learning will be periodically uploading online material for the foundation courses.

Adding to these series of changes, alternate foundation courses for ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Science’ have been designed for  the Visually Impaired students.

[via Delhi University]

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Admissions 2013

Aid for the Visually Impaired under FYUP

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Delhi University has faced a lot of flak for the ‘relentless’ implementation of the four-year undergraduate program despite severe opposition. The University, however, is doing its part to make education accessible to all, including the visually impaired students.

DU is doing everything in it’s power to ensure that the visually impaired students do not lag behind or suffer in this newly minted curriculum. To aid the 362 visually challenged students admitted so far, DU will provide them with laptops having a Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) software pre installed in them. Also, these students are being given all kinds of fee exemptions, 50 % rebate on mess charges and free metro services so that their education is not hampered.

Another problem that these students were to face was that they have been taught Mathematics and Science only till the 8th grade (and 10th grade, in some cases) and these two are a part of the foundation courses being introduced in the first 4 semesters from this academic year. Responding to this issue, the new curriculum will offer these students a choice between Core Maths and ‘History of Maths’ and Core Science and ‘History of Science’ depending on what they’ll like to pursue.

All these measures were brought to light after an NGO called Shambhavana filed a PIL stating that the FYUP was acting against the interest of the visually impaired and that these challenged students cannot adjust to the new curriculum. In response to this, the high court ordered the formulation of an empowered committee, on whose recommendations all these changes have been made.As per DU counsel Pinky Anand, the University has allotted a sum of Rs. 1.8 crore towards facilitating smooth education for these students and visually impaired teachers in all colleges are being consulted on any suggestions to make the course more amenable to the needs of these students.

Even before this, DU has been playing a proactive role in supporting the universal right to education. Assistance is given to disabled students in every aspect from relaxation in the admission requirements to financial help. The Equal Opportunity Cell established by DU undertakes measures for enable theses students to function as well as possible. Braille texts, audio books, special funding etc. are being provided to them. In addition to this, the University Grants Commission is also supporting selected university departments and colleges to offer specialised education, with financial assistance available under the programme of ‘Integrated Education for Disabled Children’ by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.

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Admissions 2013

Sanskrit honours redesigned under the FYUP

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Sanskrit, as everyone knows, is an ancient Indic language. Also referred as the language of Hinduism and the Vedas, it is the classical literary language of India.

The makers of the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) however, have given Sanskrit a new form.

Under the FYUP, there will now be various courses in theatre, self-management, Indian scientific heritage and dramatics by the Department of Sanskrit, University of Delhi. Any student from Sanskrit Honours will study these courses as a part of Discipline Courses – I, which includes core subjects. There is also an introduction of archaeological subject matters such as Indian epigraphy, paleography and chronology. Students will get a chance to study climatology, ayurveda, ecology, archaeology and yoga with this modification.

“In Discipline-1, from the total of 20 subjects, 18 are intact and changes are made to 2 of them and in Discipline-2, students will be able to learn subjects like Yoga, Upanishad, etc, which will make them understand their culture better,” said Dr. Punita Sharma, Associate Professor, Sanskrit Department, Sri Venkateshwara College.

28 colleges of the University offer B.A. Sanskrit (Honours) as a course and 40 colleges will teach Sanskrit at Discipline 2. There are many part time courses run by the University which includes Diploma and Certificate Course in Sanskrit.

“According to me, students in Second Year (III Semester) should be given free option while choosing their subjects and choices should be made from all the subjects being taught at the college, removing restrictions, so that the main purpose remains undefeated.” added Dr. Punita.

The sole purpose behind this redo is to change people’s and students mindset about Sanskrit as a subject and to make them realize its grandness and importance in this new world. Also, this is to ensure that students keep up with the demands of the job market scenario.

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Admissions 2013

Foundation Courses Under FYUP

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Despite all apprehensions and oppositions from the student and teacher community alike, Delhi University has gone ahead to introduce the four-year programme from the academic session 2013-2014. (Entire admissions 2013 coverage here) Spread over four semesters, Delhi University will offer 11 foundation courses that newly admitted students will be taught. As per the claims made by the University, the main purpose behind these courses is to encourage holistic personality development of a student who is well grounded to the realities the Indian Society is dealing with and every student will be required to clear these 11 papers irrespective of his stream. The foundation courses include:

 First Year:

  • Language, Literature, and Creativity – I
  • Language, Literature, and Creativity – II (English)
  • Information Technology
  • Business, Entrepreneurship, and Management
  • Science and Life
  • Indian History and Culture
  • Building Mathematical Ability
  • Applied Language Course – (any one course).
    • Arabic
    • Bengali
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Persian
    • Punjabi
    • Sanskrit
    • Urdu

 Second Year:

  • Governance and Citizenship
  • Philosophy, Psychology, Communication and Life Skills
  • Geographic and Socio-Economic Diversity
  • Environment and Public Health

These foundation courses aim to increase the interaction of teachers and students and promote a congenial environment to increase a students understanding of what is happening in the world as well as create basic digital literacy.

Since these courses are being introduced for the first time, DU is doing everything to ensure the smooth implementation of these courses. Another round of confusion has been around the question of who will teach these foundation courses. DU has made one thing clear, these courses will be taught by current university faculty who will first be trained to conduct these classes.

So far, the CPDHE, the training unit for Delhi University teachers, has conducted workshops and orientation programmes for 756 teachers in 7 Foundation courses during the last six weeks. The idea is to equip them to teach these courses in a manner that yields some tangible benefits for their students. Theses courses also aim to discourage rote learning and facilitate a high level of understanding through presentations, discussions and interactive sessions. Every college has nominated their faculty members and only the teachers who have received prior training will be entrusted with the task of teaching these courses. Hence, apparently this will result in college faculty teaching school level courses.

In an effort to make sense out of this entire exercise, a lot of teachers have questioned the need to introduce these courses that they feel should have been taken care of at the school level and that they undermine the importance of the specialised stream a student has opted for. To add to their pointlessness, these courses also jeopardise valuable classroom time that could have been used to study the core subject in detail. For instance, a student studying Political Science will not be able to appreciate the complexities of ‘science and life’ or ‘information technology’.

Yet, all said and done, only time will tell what the introduction of the 4 year program does for our education system and the country at large.

(Also see: All you wanted to know about the Four Year Undergraduate Programme)

Image Credit: University of Delhi official website

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Admissions 2013

Philosophy under FYUP: Course Analysis

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philowp
Philosophy, the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, has been a core academic discipline for centuries to come now. With an increase in the percentage of young minds wanting to develop a thought process of their own and to learn how to do so, B.A (H) in Philosophy has become one of the most sought after courses in the University of Delhi. Available in most of DU’s most renowned colleges, like St. Stephens, Miranda House, Lady Shri Ram, Hindu etc., this course has seen a sudden hike in the number of takers. So here at DU Beat, we decided to analysis the changes made in this course with the advent of the new Four Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP).

The Course
Analysing the University’s undergraduate Philosophy course in particular, we can definitely see that the course has become more rigorous than its predecessor. The subjects introduced at a foundation level are ones unrelated to philosophy (with the exception of Philosophy, Psychology, Communication and Life Skills), but definitely help in understanding the subject better and help sharpen the student’s analytical skills. It also gives a subject like philosophy a more practical, hands-on approach; but alongside a core, theoretical subject like philosophy, it is deemed not required.

The Integrating Mind, Body and Heart course is a welcome addition as it is a core philosophical subject which aims at honing a student’s moralistic side. The applied courses include the likes of Aesthetics and Art Appreciation, Bio-ethics, Meditation and Today, Issues in Applied Ethics etc. These courses definitely help students understand the wide spread implication of a subject like this, but studying subjects like ‘Meditation’ and ‘Art appreciation’ makes the subject extremely stereotypical, and add fuel to the fire as students already question the vague nature of the subject. The winning factor of this new program is the emphasis on the understanding of concepts like Ethics, which people across on a daily basis in their student/work life.

Extra-curricular Activities
The revelation that extra-curricular activities would now hold credit is one of great joy for most students, as in a University like that of Delhi; most students come with the hopes of indulging in their choice of activities along with their studies.

Freedom of Choice
While students will now be able to make an informed choice about exactly what honours degree they’d like to pursue, there has also been certain curtailing of free choice, with the eleven foundation courses being compulsory along with one applied language course.

Exit Points
Under the FYUP, the mid course exit points provided after two years and three years respectively may also prove to be the easier way out for some. Giving young 18-19 year old students an open choice as to leave in 2-3 years makes it difficult for them to make career choices in their formative years.
Also, a subject like philosophy needs time to be studied and understood, but with the option of quitting; there is going to be a major increase in the drop-out rates of our country, making this course a not so feasible option.

Employability
The new FYUP has definitely made a traditionally academic subject like philosophy more market-friendly as the terminology of having a ‘professional degree’ now makes it easier for arts students to land jobs immediately after their under-graduation. Also, the study of various other humanities subjects alongside those of science enables graduates in philosophy to choose from a wider plethora of career options.

Final verdict
The FYUP has definitely changed the course structure of philosophy for the better by making it more practical in nature, but it definitely has definitely lessened the value of this subject as a core academically taught program. The success of this course can only be judged after we see the increase or decrease in the number of takers for this subject.

(For analysis of other courses click here)

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Admissions 2013

Journalism and Mass Communication under FYUP: Course analysis

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journo-wp
Journalism as a course was offered in five colleges of Delhi University presumably, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Kamala Nehru College, Lady Shri Ram College, Maharaja Agrasen and Kalindi College. A separate Honours programme in Mass Media and Mass Communication was available in Indraprastha College for Women, only. The new 4-year undergraduate programme has amalgamated these courses into a single entity: Bachelor in Journalism and Mass communication (BJMC), offered in all 6 colleges.

As per the FYUP guidelines, students of this subject will have to take up 30 subjects in their course of study. The course located within the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Humanities (FASSH), has been designed to provide theoretical and practical knowledge, with the help of four skills based papers, and provides the students with technical skills to help them in their careers.

Admission: Cut off list based on merit

How different is the course now?
From a shift to Journalism and Mass Communication from plain old Journalism, a change is somewhat expected. However, when given a look at the course, it still happens to be extremely dominated by Journalism. The papers in the first year have been minimized to two per semester as opposed to the four earlier. While many papers have been shuffled to different years, a lot have been completely removed, for e.g.: Indian State and Democratic Polity, Indian Economy and Business and International Politics, find no place in the current system. Also, a contemporary paper like  – ‘IT and Online Journalism’ earlier taught in the first semester, has been dissolved into New Media (Semester 3) and Online Journalism (Semester 7) in the new FYUP.

Practical or Theory?
With the obvious decrease in theory papers, many papers from the earlier system find themselves extinct in the current programme or are amalgamated with various other subjects to create a new paper which represents them faintly. For e.g.: Global Politics and the media, in the 6th semester of FYUP, has extractions from various previous papers.  There is an increase in skill based papers which give practical hand on knowledge, like Print Production (Semester 3), Writing and reporting for Print (Semester 4), Documentary Production (Semester 6) and others. The course is definitely no longer just theory based. There are practical subjects in four semesters while two others have research based projects similar to the previous model of a dissertation. Papers such as Media and Cultural Studies and History of Media have survived the brunt of the FYUP, keeping the media theory bits intact.

Discipline Courses – IIWhile Political Science and Economics papers have been scrapped in the new system, the concept of ‘minor’ or DC-II courses might enable students to experience subjects such as Political Science and Sociology. With the present uncertainty around the concept, depending upon the college you are studying in you might be given a choice for your minor field. Most probably, these options would include courses such as English, Sociology and Political Science. You would then be doing six papers in the subject that would be your minor. So in the end if you do get to have Political Science as a minor subject, you would actually be studying more of the subject than in the previous system.

Applied Courses
One of the positive attributes of the FYUP, are the Applied Courses. While in the earlier system, Documentary production was a voluntary activity with no merit awarded to it and photography skills had to be acquired outside of college, FYUP carves out dedicated papers to this skill based subjects. Print Production (Semester 3), teaches students the various design softwares needed in print media. Still Photography (Sem 4) emphasizes on the importance of still photography in media and gives foundation knowledge on composition and framing alongside technical know how. Documentary Production (Semester 6), will provide specialized knowledge for Radio and Video Documentary. The final product of this paper will be a 12-min documentary by the students.

(Journalism and Mass Communication 2013 cut-off)

Expected workload
The students can enjoy a load free first year but there is an incremental increase in difficulty and subjects with each year, as opposed to the firm, four papers every year, in the previous programme. The students will have to manage their time and workload in the third year especially, with five papers at hand. Practical paper based projects will tend to take up a lot more time and energy of the student.

Scope for co-curriculars
Being a professional degree course, Journalism takes up a lot of time of the students, with classes six days a week. But, in the present system there is a relief in the first and second year especially, and students can engage in extracurricular activities.

Exit Points
There are three exit points in this programme. The supposedly Diploma degree after the second year fails to provide wholesome skills and knowledge to the student. These students will do far less number of disciplines as compared to the 4-year student. The biggest fallout will be in terms of the employability of the Diploma and Bachelor degree students who will exit after 2 and 3 years because they will be considered as students who failed to complete the entire 4 year programme. Exiting with a Diploma degree will be a complete waste of time.

Employability
What might improve is the ability of the graduating student to decide on his/her area of interest, as the course gives a brief outlook on all aspects of journalism. The reflection on Mass Communication and other aspects such as Marketing Communications can also help students take career paths in other fields.

Conclusion
With Journalism already being one of the most expensive subjects of Delhi University, students will now have to expend some more. Also, there is the common problem of a serious lack in the teaching department, with a lot of colleges resorting to Ad-Hoc teachers. While the course has not lost much of its originality, the inclusion of technical and skill based disciplines will be of much help to the student.

So while the subject will probably be more enjoyable due to the inclusion of skills based papers and projects, the theoretical knowledge and the fundamental knowledge has been decreased significantly.

(For analysis of other courses click here)

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Admissions 2013

Commerce under FYUP: Course Analysis

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commerce-wp

The University of Delhi has always been innovating and experimenting with the courses it offers. This time, however, the change is even more radical and in spite of millions of speculations, protests and uncertainty the University has carried out its four year undergraduate plan, which on the face of it, seems entirely different from all previous attempts.

Almost all the courses are divided into Discipline course, Foundation course and Integrating Mind, Body and Heart course. B.Com (Hons) likewise has eight semesters altogether with first two years dedicated to Diploma, 3 years offers bachelor degree and fourth year bachelor with honours degree.

Difference in topics
The syllabus includes the commerce component business laws, financial accounting and auditing, business mathematics and statistics, human resource management and financial management in Discipline 1. While new papers like corporate governance and social responsibility, industrial law and foreign exchange management have been introduced, papers like indirect tax have been dropped.Discipline 2, which comprises six papers, includes setting up a business, marketing for beginners, financial reporting and analysis, personal tax planning, investing in stock market and insurance and risk management. However, the optional papers like financial market, institutions and financial services, compensation management, corporate tax planning and business data processing found no place in the new structure.

Diluted or Enriched
A section of teachers has alleged dilution of the B.Com (H) course as full-fledged papers on indirect tax (VAT and service tax) and international business have been dropped. However, the mix of different subjects in Foundation and Discipline course seems quite promising in giving a more intensive touch to Commerce as a whole.

Knowledge- Theory or practical
The four year course, definitely, has more practical side than the previous three year system. With subjects like Setting up a Business, Marketing for Beginners, Financial Reporting & Analysis, Personal Tax Planning, Investing in Stock Market, Insurance & Risk Management in discipline 2 the students are expected to have more exposure to actual business and market condition.

(Commerce 2013 cut-offs)

Work Load- swell up?
The first year has 11 foundation subjects which the students have to take. There is no other way out. Naturally the work load has increased. However, the pressure on students will fluctuate with every semester. In addition the Foundation course offers subjects like Science and Life which a commerce student might not be interested in, which in turn increases the work load.

Co- curricular activities
With increased workload and diverse subjects, focus on extracurricular activities will demand greater effort and time. The students might face difficulty in coping up with these. In the second, third and fourth year however, one cultural activity has been made compulsory.

Multiple exit points
Many professors feel that multiple exit points will encourage dropping out and actually lead to greater inequity among students. If a student leaves after two years, it will be of little help to him as far as employment is concerned. With multiple exit points it is unclear how students will be accommodated in other colleges outside Delhi.

Final Verdict
Although the FYUP offers more choices and greater diversity, if we look closely, a student has little choice to make and most of foundation subjects might not prove to be worth it. However, if a student completes all the four year he/ she will have a better employment prospect. The study is in depth if we ignore the subjects which have been dropped.

(For analysis of other courses click here)

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