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As An Institute of Eminence, Will This Be DU’s Institutional Decadence?

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The status of Eminence raises apprehensions towards the future and functioning of Delhi University (DU) under the threats of disintegration, privatization and excessive surveillance.

Just a month after the University of Delhi (DU) along with four other institutes, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, Banaras Hindi University and Hyderabad University, was granted the status of Institute of Eminence (IoE) with the objective of achieving the stature of world class institute. The next step in ensuring this initiative was the signing of the trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Delhi, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Human Resource & Development (MHRD), which was duly completed the previous day.

But this further aggravates the skepticism regarding the University getting under the purview of an irrevocable authorization which substantially raises concerns of disintegration, excessive surveillance and privatization of the University, in the name of ‘Autonomy’, ‘Eminence’ and ‘Increased Government Amenities’ in this status provided.

Further the implementation of the Draft New Education Policy (DNEP) timeline of 2020 in October 2019 itself by the University is concerning in itself, the timeline which has to do with the abolition of statutory bodies like Executive Council, Academic Council and Departmental Council / College Staff Council by the constitution of all powerful Board of Governors (BOGs).

This BOGs will also be unaccountable to the Academic Council or Executive Council and hence, will come directly under the Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog (RSA). To add on to this, the elected component will be terminated and will be replaced by nominated members from stakeholders, abroad the University with the provision of weeding out inconvenient element periodically.

The One Thousand Crore Rupees grant, which is to be sanctioned over a  period of ten years from the Central government comes at an expense of new jurisdictions under the BOGs and their matters which will also  be devoid of any critical scrutiny of Executive Council (EC), Academic Council (AC) and Finance Committee (FC). Interestingly, the IITs which are receiving grants under this scheme have till now received only Rs 48 crores in the last two years out of the total Rs 1000 crores sanctioned.

The crisis does not ends here, the creation of such a system under the status of Eminence, has severe repercussions for academia and academics as well. Apart from the BOG and RSA surveillance which will be left on its own terms of grants and maintenance very soon, this status will confine the parallel structure for DU when it is ought to receive the entire limelight and government patronage and expected reverse adulation.

The system will even make the institution appear as a worthless vestigial organ from which the government can turn its face anytime for its inevitable signing up MoUs with backed up private institutions to sustain itself. This autonomous parallel structure of Eminence will also legitimize the infiltration of faculties from outside the DU, by relegating the existing academics and professoriate to back benches or a second and third class citizenship in terms of employment and salary structure, as this all falls under the power of BOGs.

The BOGs will also have the power to decide differential salaries and individual compensation for its faculty within the same rank and scale, thereby cultivating an atmosphere of hegemony and prejudice. The variable pay structure and the non-accountability of the Board of Governors to Academic Council and Executive Council will turn this institution into a tyranny, with the Centre laden with the power.

Undoubtedly, the status of eminence can act as an instrument of decadence for the country’s prime public university, erasing the gap between the corporate funded educational institutions and government institutions that bear the charge of promotion of the marginalized communities.

It is even more disheartening to see that after hundred years of hard work, efforts and the ever growing prominence round the world, the status of Eminence rather than a helping tool of promotion & growth, is used to hinder the University’s growth, when the upliftment of young minds should be the government’s priority. It becomes really essential for the present authorities to stress on this matter and look for the most judicious alternative that suits the university, its students and faculty and administration themselves.

 

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat

Faizan Salik

[email protected]

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Campus Central

Controversy Over Proposed Syllabus Changes of Undergraduate Courses

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Recent proposals for changes in the syllabi of various undergraduate courses have sparked opposition from the teaching staff, and the ABVP.

Controversy over academic matters arose in the  University of Delhi (DU), with some members of the Standing Committee and the Academic Council (AC), along with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) taking objections to some of the proposed changes in the syllabi of various undergraduate courses.

The controversy has taken the form of opposition from Academic Council members and protests by the ABVP, which some had alleged to have turned hostile.

The Background

A report in The Hindu stated that changes in the syllabus proposed by the English department of the University were opposed in a meeting of the Standing Committee to review the Undergraduate syllabus on 11th July. Among the proposals was the inclusion of study materials related to the role of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the 2002 Gujarat riots, and use of Hindu deities in the reading of Queer Literature.  

Similar was the case with the English Journalism syllabus. As reported by The New Indian Express on 15th July, objection was raised by some members of the Academic Council over the inclusion of chapters about Muzaffarnagar riots, and instances of lynchings.

On 17th July, The Indian Express reported about the syllabus changes of other courses and the objections that came along with them. These included syllabi of History, Political Science and Sociology, along with English. The report stated that the Academic Council “referred the syllabus of English and History back to the respective departments for reconsideration, thereby refusing to pass it as it is.” The report further read, “On the syllabi for Political Science and Sociology, some AC members said they too had been sent back for modification, while others claimed they were passed with ‘minor modifications’.”

Who objected and why?

Professor Rasal Singh, a member of the Academic Council, had raised objections regarding the syllabus changes. He alleged that in the story Maniben Alias Bibijaan – a background to the 2002 Gujarat riots – RSS and its affiliate organisations like Bajrang Dal were shown in a “very bad manner”, and were portrayed as “looters” and “murderers”.

He further said that in the syllabus proposed by the English department, “Gods Vishnu, Shiv, Kartikeya and Ganesh were depicted as part of the LGBT community. The sources and evidence for these were secondary sources like ‘Same Sex Love in India’ written by Leftists on the basis of foundational texts of Indian culture such as the Bhagavata Purana, Skanda Purana, and Shiva Purana.” He also alleged that “too much Literature was being incorporated in a paper like ‘Communication Skills’. Instead of core courses like ‘Indian Writing in English’, new papers such as ‘Literature and Caste’ and ‘Interrogating Queerness’ were started.”

Regarding the History department, he said that “[topics about] Rajput history, Amir Khusrau, Sher Shah Suri and Babasaheb Ambedkar were removed from the syllabus. In the ‘Democracy on Work’ course, only the history of Naxalism and the Left have been included.”

He also said that the topics related to the Vedic society, the joint family, village swaraj, and “basics of Indian cultural thought such as environmental discussions and nature worship” were removed from the Sociology syllabus. On the Political Science front, according to Mr Singh, Maoism had been included in the course on ‘Indian Social Movements’, while other social movements like the Ramakrishna Mission, Arya Samaj, Brahma Samaj, and Khudai Khidmatgar were removed.

Mr Singh also alleged that the English department had not complied with the format and instructions of the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) and instead of a 30 percent change in the syllabus, close to a 100 percent change had been done.

The syllabus showed “tremendous predominance of leftist ideology and a ceaseless opposition towards nationalist ideology, Indian culture and the RSS,” Mr Singh said.

The ABVP, the student-wing of the RSS, organised a protest on 15th July, against the “inclusion of false facts relating to Hinduism and nationalist organisations.” The ABVP also demanded for the “inclusion of elected office bearers of Delhi University Students’ Union in the Academic Council,” as per a press release made by the student organisation on 16th July.

While some alleged that the ABVP tried to “barge into” the Vice Chancellor’s office and demanded that the Heads of Department of English and History, and Academic Council member Saikat Ghosh be “handed over to them,” the student organisation maintained that the protest was “peaceful.”

“Following the protest of ABVP yesterday, Delhi University administration has withdrawn the proposed syllabus of Political Science, English, History and Sociology courses for revision and decided to retain 5 students as members in the Academic Council,” said Ashutosh Singh from the ABVP.

Note – Mr Ghosh could not respond to requests for comments by the time of publishing of this report. This report would be updated as and when he does.

Similar instances in the past

In October last year, the ABVP had objected to the appointment of historian Ramachandra Guha as the Shrenik Lalbhai Chair Professor of Humanities and the Director of the Gandhi Winter School at the Ahmedabad University’s School of Arts and Sciences. Pravin Desai, the ABVP Secretary for Ahmedabad city was quoted in The Indian Express as saying, “We said that we want intellectuals in our educational institutes and not anti-nationals, who can also be termed as ‘urban Naxals’. We had quoted anti-national content from his [Guha’s] books to the Registrar. We told him, the person you are calling is a ‘Communist’. If he is invited to Gujarat, there would be a JNU-kind ‘anti-national’ sentiment.”

Following this, Mr Guha announced that he would not be taking up this position due to “circumstances beyond my control.”

Counter-protests

Some student organisations have condemned the ABVP’s protests. Organisations such as the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Association (AISA), Collective, and others had called for a ‘joint protest’ on 17th July at the Arts Faculty, to “save our critical thinking universities and textbooks from communal forces.”

Amarjeet Kumar Singh from AISA said, “We demand that the syllabus should be decided by the Academic Council and not by the ABVP.”

Feature Image Credits: Various.

Prateek Pankaj

[email protected]

 

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Campus Central

30 Newly Introduced Courses To Not Start This Year in DU

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Various undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses may not begin this year in the University of Delhi (DU).

30 UG and PG courses that were to begin in about 20 colleges may not commence from this academic session. It has also been speculated that due to various technical difficulties, the admissions to regular courses would also be delayed further.

The Academic Council which had initiated this decision of introducing 30 courses in 20 colleges in the month of January this year, had approved to introduce the following courses in various colleges:

UG Courses                                                         

  1. B.A. (H): Bhim Rao Ambedkar College
  2. B.A. (H) Economics: Dyal Singh College(Eve), Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College                                
  3. B.A. (H) Philosophy: Hansraj College
  4. B.A. (H) Psychology: Lakshmi Bai College, Bhaskaracharya College
  5. B.A. (H) History: Dyal Singh College
  6. B.A. (H) Political Science:  Bhim Rao Ambedkar College
  7. B.A. (H) Hindi Journalism and Mass Communication: Jesus and Mary College
  8. Bsc Environmental Science: Vivekananda College, Indraprastha College

PG Courses                                                         

  1. M.A. English: Shri Gurunanak Dev College
  2. M.A. Hindi: Shri Venkateshwara College, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
  3. M.Sc. Operational Research: Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Keshav Mahavidyalaya

“The council has also approved ten more vocational courses in some colleges from the upcoming session,” Professor Hansraj Suman, a member of the Academic Council stated.

There has also been an increase in the number of seats in colleges; with the B.A. (Programme) seats being increased from 40 to 200 in Hansraj College in the next session. Aditi Mahavidhalaya has also increased the number of seats in B.Sc. (Programme) from 55 to 80. The college will also have 50 more additional seats for B.Com (H), the minutes of the council mentioned.      

Mr Suman further said that even though these courses have been approved, the admissions may have difficulties as the Principals of these colleges have not been able to appoint teaching faculties. However, it is mandatory for the colleges to run these courses from the next academic session. He further added that the colleges can take loan from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), if needed, to pay the new teachers.     

“It’s terrible news because the competition for Operational Research (OR) has always been very high. The introduction of more seats would have surely helped with making it into the course more easily.” Joel Mathew, a student who has been preparing for the entrance test for OR said. This news has surely been a blow to entrance aspirants with respect to the PG course.

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

 

Stephen Mathew

[email protected]

 

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DU Risks Fund Cuts; MoU Still Not Signed

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University of Delhi stands at the risk of getting its funds curtailed due to the non-signing of the Memorandum of Understanding  with the centre and the University Grants Commission.

University of Delhi (DU), once again, stands on the verge of fund cuts. This time around, it is due to the non-signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the centre and the University Grants Commission (UGC).

As reported by the Hindustan Times, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the UGC entered into a pact with varsities laying down several parameters for them, during the last academic session. The MoUs lay down achievement targets and also form the basis of grants allotted to the institutions. The various parameters highlighted in the pact are related to the various targets, such as filling up vacancies, utilisation of resources, output targets in terms of programme of work, and action plan among others.

Rule 229(11) of the General Funancial Rules states, “autonomous organisations as also others with a budgetary support of more than INR five crores per annum, should be required to enter into a MoU with the administrative ministry or department, spelling out clearly performance parameters, output targets in terms of details of programme of work and qualitative improvement in output, along with commensurate input requirements.”

The rule further states, “The output targets, given in measurable units of performance, should form the basis of budgetary support extended to these organisations. The roadmap for improved performance with clear milestones should form part of the MoU.”

DU remains the only significant exception among all the 40 central universities which have signed the MoU with the centre and the UGC. Thus, it stands at a risk of getting its funds curtailed.

A senior official from UGC discussing the issue and the University’s stand on the same said, “Like last year, the tripartite MoUs are being signed again and most varsities have already entered into these pacts. However, DU continues to be an exception. Since, the varsity has not signed it, its funding can be curtailed. However, in a recent meeting the Vice Chancellor has assured that he would try to get the proposal cleared through the varsity’s executive council to pave way for the pact to be signed.”

The risk stands valid  ‘technically’ but the same issue arose last year when DU failed to sign the MoU. But, keeping in view the interest of the students, UGC didn’t take the step ahead in curtailing the funds. But, if the same leniency would be granted to the University this time around too is something which looks doubtful.

If this step of stopping the funds of the University is indeed taken, the students are bound to get affected as the subsidized fees of DU has made it possible for various students from relatively low income families to access the academics and facilities due to their merit. But, curtailing of funds would see a sky high increase in fees, making it almost impossible for such students to sustain in the University.

Finding the clauses and demands of the MoU unacceptable, Saikat Ghosh, a member of the academic council of Delhi University spoke to DU Beat. He said, “DU is entitled to adequate public funding as it is a premier public university imparting higher education to lakhs of students.The MHRD cannot bully DU into accepting unreasonable parameters and targets – that is simply bureaucratic interference of the meanest kind. As a public university, DU should not be browbeaten into accepting the clauses that demand incremental hikes in student fees and self-financing courses. DU has the statutory freedom to decide on its own targets and achievement parameters. It will not sign an MoU that encroaches on this freedom and allows politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists an upper-hand over its students and teachers in decision-making. The MHRD’s threats are condemnable and will continue to be resisted.”

On talking to DU Beat, Abha Dev Habib, a member of Delhi University Teachers’ Association said, “DUTA has been opposing signing of Tripartite MoU. The meeting of the Executive Council where it was placed was stalled. Tripartite MoU aims at restructuring higher education in terms of their funding. Central and State Universities are being arm twisted in signing this MoU, which requires universities to steadily increase student intake and fees. However, there is no commitment to provide grants for additional infrastructre or teaching- non teaching staff to cater to any such increase in number of students. This MoU is a way  of withdrawing public funding and pushing the burden of maintaining or expanding Central and State universities on parents and students.”

The University and the UGC need to come in a common agreement so as to safeguard the interests of the students.

Feature Image Credits: Niharika Dabral for DU Beat.

 

Shreya Agrawal

[email protected]

 

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Academic Council Claim Recommendations not Considered by DU

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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
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Not a Single Student Member in DU Academic Council Since the Last 10 Years

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An RTI has uncovered that the highest academic body of the University of Delhi, Academic Council, has not seen a single student as a member in the last 10 years.

Advocate Mohit Kumar Gupta’s RTI reply as received from the Delhi University read that “No student member has ever been elected/ nominated in the last ten years and even presently, there is no student representative in the Academic Council.” It further mentioned that no amendments have been made to the varsity’s Academic Council’s statute 7(I) (xiii), which would have introverted the membership of students in the Council.

The highest academic body of the varsity, Academic Council, is responsible for the preservation of standards of instruction, education, and examination within the University. In a statement made to the Sunday Guardian, Rocky Tusheed, President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) said, “Ever since 2010, we have been trying to put this across to the administration, but nothing seems to have worked so far. Universities are for students and it is very unfortunate that there is a lack of representation of students in a body that decides their own future.” DUSU has been preparing a Students’ Charter in consultation with all the student bodies of the varsity that would include the demand for representation of students in the Academic Council.

The Vice-Chancellor, Principals of various colleges, Deans and Director of School of Open Learning and South Campus, and the Registrar are also intended to be members of the DU’s Academic Council apart from students.

 

Feature Image Credits: Sharda University

Oorja Tapan 
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