The Four Year undergraduate Programme of university of Delhi, commonly called the FYUP, you hate it, right? An extra year wasted. You don’t really approve of it? Silly syllabus. No value. That’s what you believe! Then, it’s time for you to hear it from those who’ve actually been a part of this change, and for a while silence those uninformed news channels which want you to believe that coin has just one side.

If your house is old with crumbling walls, you don’t just demolish it. You break it, and build it again. And if it’s about housing half a million kids, then one year is not really enough to build that house.

Our education system has always been about books, books and books. An educated person is then, someone who’s mugged up one whole library. Right? Well,then you must know education is about character building, developing confidence, public dealing, stress management, time management, personality growth, being sensitive towards issues that concern our country, learning team work, leadership skills, voicing your opinion, holistic development. Education is about developing your personality and recreating yourself.Education is about being a good human being and a concerned citizen.

You ask who am I to say this. I say, I am a student of the first ever batch of the controversial FYUP and  this is what the alleged four year regime has taught me – to voice my opinion.

What do you say, wasting one whole year,right? You know what we learn while we ‘waste’ this extra year? We go through presentations that give us the opportunity to speak. We undertake debates and we enhance our argumentative and eloquent skills. We work in teams, which teaches us to work with people while working for our own selves. We manage time, in order to give our best in discipline courses as well. We get sensitized on issues like women empowerment, water scarcity, conservation of resources, in which we end up building our characters.

We get out of the four walled classroom, and interview people who’ve been successful, through which we don’t read their success saga, we hear it from them, and then let it inspire us. We make projects that project our opinion. We use the internet which is Facebook, Google, Twitter etc to do research work, surveys which means we’re making the best possible use of available resources to learn, thus equipping ourselves with latest technology . With every new challenge that comes our way, together think of the most creative ideas to tackle it. For every new opportunity, we develop a new capability.

Does the conventional three year undergraduate program render these positives? I hear only one call, quite loud and clear i.e. a ‘NO’.

No wonder books are windows to the world. But it’s time we look beyond these windows and step into the actual world. And let learning seep in as we do this, instead of just cramming words, numbers, figures and formulas. It’s time our education system takes a rebirth. This is the time to change, and the change has come. It is in front of us, but we refuse to accept it. The FYUP.

Not denying the horrible drawbacks of the system, it is still what the Indian education system needs. The childish syllabus of foundation courses is a problem. Well, then restructure it to bring it to our levels. Can’t we stick to the benefits of FYUP, while not repeating our primary and secondary classes’ syllabus.

As for the extra year you say, I’ve already mentioned what is it that we actually do in that year. And for the ones considering to study abroad, this is a boon. And any way, even if FYUP is scrapped, we’ll have to study our heads off to make up for the subjects that we didn’t, or couldn’t study in our first year.

The foundation of the foundation courses is weak, then restructure it, rebuild it. If FYUP is defective, repair it, make it effective.
Instead of Scrapping it, the need of the hour is to reshape it. It’s time we change our perspective of education from reading books in confined classrooms to exploring and experiencing ourselves in this limitless world.

The FYUP course isn’t well structured , so restructure it, modify it for good.Don’t seek respite in scrapping it off under some gruesome political influence.

FYUP isn’t the culprit, it is something major countries of the world follow. Even some of the Foundation courses have helped students get rid of shyness and present themselves freely in an open environment.

The University Grants Commission whose endeavors have brought a new angle to the whole controversy, has been here the whole time. From the inception of FYUP until the conclusion of its first year, what’s with the late awakening, doesn’t your mind ponder?  The University of Delhi is an autonomous organisation which is being threatened to adhere to the UGC directives or else face severe consequences. Isn’t demanding rollback of FYUP by threatening colleges of freezing of financial grants, a form of coercion? isn’t it synonymous to robbing a man at gunpoint ? 

If you are wishful of a change, then you ought to be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day. At times, all what is messy demands nothing but some time and open discussions. If the intentions are clear it is enough to correct the mistakes, rebuild the weak areas and  bridge the gap with effective thought processes.  No idea ever worked without implementation. This time support execution instead of ending. Initiate change. Support change. Accept change.

The wagon of success, glory, development and advancement knows of only acceleration. It maneuvers further thereon. Uninstalling FYUP from the system of University of Delhi, puts this wagon in the reverse gear, and moving back to what was overcome, is not only non progressive and frustrating, but also disappointing and blemishing. Does the FYUP really deserve to be scrapped ? Isn’t it too harsh a punishment?

When an organ gets damaged, we take all possible steps to restore its function. We don’t hate it enough to severe it off our bodies.  Of course, FYUP is ailing, but it needs to be cured, not killed, for it is promising and something, that is needed in the education system to make professionals who aren’t mere store houses of knowledge but able managers, speakers, writers and all rounders.

This article is a guest post by Aprajita Saini and Anurvi Mehra,  first year students of Bachelors of Commerce (with Honors) at Shri Ram College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi.   

Featured Image designed and illustrated by –  Mehr Gill for DU Beat.

Securing a seat in Delhi University is a common aspiration of a large number of high school pass outs, and they also face a common dilemma – whether to take up a course  of their choice from a lesser – known college or to settle for a course in which they might have little or no interest in from a more popular college.

This dilemma intensifies further for the students scoring an average result of say, 91-94%. Yes, this is an average score according to the cut-off trends of the past few years. These students constitute the unlucky lot that missed out on the 95% mark, despite having been bright in school, and also their shot at the more reputed colleges of the University.

There are of course students who have the intelligence and luck to score 96% and above. They are the privileged ones who get the opportunity to obtain the college and course they desire. This is in stark contrast to the ones scoring 80% or below who neither get their desired course, nor college, or end up having to make a heart-breaking between the two.

Commerce and Economic courses usually have the highest cut-offs. Students from commerce background especially tend to be inclined towards these subjects. The first cut off list of 2013 saw popular colleges like Hindu College and Lady Shri Ram College for Women keep the benchmark for at approximately 97-98% while the comparatively lesser known ones like Motilal Nehru College kept the same at about 93-95%. According to the admission coverage by Times Of India for 2014, English however is way ahead of these “hot” subjects according to online applications received till June 15.

According to experts, one should choose a course of their own choice over a good college as, in that scenario, they will by default work hard and ultimately performance matters. If one compromises on the course they might land up being dissatisfied in their professional lives too. Prof, J.M Khurana, Dean of Students’  Welfare,  DU says  “The college name does not matter. A good college may have good facilities, faculty and a good academic environment allowing healthier competition, but it is up to the student how he/she makes the best of what he/she has.”

When applying for Master’s,  admissions are based on  entrance exams rather than the college from which a student pursued his/ her undergraduate studies. For non-professional courses, a focused student should choose course over college as these are niche areas where much higher level of study is required in future. There is always a chance to shift to a better college at postgraduate level.

For professional courses like engineering and law, a good college opens up job avenues. There is no point choosing a college where campus recruitments are rare or none.  Apart from guaranteed placements,  a “good” college also provides major facilities like a well-equipped library, easy internet access or state of the art laboratory. It organizes academic and non-academic programs which enhances the knowledge of students in diverse fields and makes them better equipped to face the world. Since good colleges only take the best of students, the crowd itself is enriching to the newbies and proves advantageous to their overall personality development.

Hence, there isn’t one definite solution to the course v/s college dilemma and it is for the student to decide what matters to them – course or college and which should be given preference over the other.

 Ishani Rajkhowa for DU Beat.