If we are to believe the rumours and unconfirmed reports, the Delhi Government has dictated that 12 well-established colleges of University of Delhi will go under a varsity shift and join the fairly new Ambedkar University. These colleges include Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS), Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya and more.
When I joined SSCBS I had a few expectations: that I will be getting a degree from DU, a University which boasts of high standards of teaching and research, and is among the most sought-after in the country; and that I will be a part of an institution that will continue to prove its mark for years to come.
The news that DU might not be able to hold to this shoddy benchmark is truly baffling. Not only will this move tarnish the image of one of the most respected institutions in the country for management studies, i.e., SSCBS, but also that of rising new colleges like Keshav Mahavidyalaya.
Ambedkar University was established in 2008 by the Government of Delhi for the purpose of research in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. However, most of the chosen colleges mostly offer science and commerce based subjects. Did the authorities think that through? Did the authorities think about how the structure of courses would have to be changed,more so the syllabus and the faculty?
I don’t know what the teaching standards of Ambedkar University are, but I strongly believe that merging colleges that are under DU to this University will be detrimental to the vision and mission of the University. Ambedkar University deserves to expand and touch new horizons, but not at the expense of the future of thousands of students who didn’t even sign up to be a part of this University.
The Government of Delhi needs to stop interfering in the structure and operations of an autonomous, central University like DU. Instead, its focus should be on improving the standards of teaching and fairly expanding the state universities.
Kartikeya Bhatotia
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Image credits: Google Images
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