UGC-DU stand off

Vinay Thusoo
Ever since the controversy cropped up over the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), my eyes are all glued to TV screen, surfing from one channel to another, newspaper after newspaper to get update on  UGC-DU stand off. As no side is  in a mood to blink first, I thought I put everything in right perspective. The Teachers Association treat the step of UGC as an  assault on the autonomy of university and have gone on hunger strike on this issue and UGC feels that under a law that along with financial powers allows it to oversee compliance of its orders and academic interests of students, pre-empting DU argument of being an autonomous body.The university gets most of its funds from the UGC.”This tiff has been going on for the past one and a half years and the serious question arises: was UPA then in no mood to upset American Education Lobbies as we all know that in the past also it  tried hard enough on the floor of house to get FDI in education sector passed? The BJP on the other hand  in its poll manifesto for Delhi Assembly elections had promised to do away with the course. Moreover, student  bodies of both Congress and BJP have also plunged into this controversy. Just copying American Model won’t help. What is of paramount importance is to raise quality of education, upgrade old rotten syllabi, and above all fill vacant posts of  faculties. Our education system needs a major overhaul. In American Universities what they are doing is providing two year opportunity to students to explore their area of interest and then they opt for the subject of their choice unlike India where everything seems to be thrust upon and forced to gulp down the throat.  At the back drop of this stand off, President, Principals Association also issued statement that unless clear cut directives are  issued, colleges shall defer the admission process, thus leaving students high and dry.The standoff not only leaves 60,000 students already pursuing the course facing uncertainty but also threatens to derail arguably the most fiercely fought admission process in the country. This year, DU has received 2.75 lakh applications for 54,000 undergraduate seats from  across country. And these candidates  have been facing a lot of difficulties due to ongoing tiff between the UGC and university over the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) and hope that things get sorted before the beginning of new session.  Stepping up pressure, the University Grants Commission on June 21  issued second reminder to DU to scrap the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). Hours after the university regulator ordered a rollback of the year-old course bitterly opposed by students and teachers, DU passed a resolution, saying it had “revised” the programme and it no longer violated the National Education Policy (NEP).Two things seem certain. One, Delhi University (DU) is going through a crisis of identity. Two, it wants to align itself, very selectively, with parts of the American system. It can’t decide whether to remain India’s flagship university or become a glorified community college. In its crisis of institutional identity, DU is not alone. The entire Indian Higher education system is feeling unsure of its worth and wants to regain self-confidence through quick action. Opinions are sharply divided. Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of  India on social networking site wrote,  “I did  BA  in two years from Allahabad University from 1963-65. I can not understand why it should take 4 years to do BA? There seems to be no sense in this”.
Indeed, anyone who seeks to publicly examine the proposed move is promptly branded a dissident of a ‘certain ideological orientation’. But university towns like Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Allahabad have come to be quite familiar with such charged-up environments. Undergraduate colleges provided spaces to induct the young into a community built with ideas and words. The struggle to establish such a community came under severe strain during the Emergency. In Europe, many countries with longer-duration undergraduate programmes are now trying to move towards the three-year model. But in any case, our universities see no point in learning from Europe. Defying the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Delhi University (DU) refused to scrap the controversial four-year undergraduate programme, raising fears that college admissions could be staring at a nursery-like mess.The regulator faulted the university for not conforming to NEP that follows 10+2+3 pattern – three years to a bachelor’s degree -other than professional courses – after passing Class 12. After a five-hour long meeting of its academic council, the university decided to write to the UGC, saying applicants would be admitted to the three-year bachelor’s degree programme in conformation with NEP. Students who want honours degree or a B Tech would have to study for another –  fourth – year, it said. But there is nothing new in the so-called revised proposal. At present, only honours student have to spend four years to get the degree.Thebitter debate over the Four-Year Undergraduate  Programme (FYUP) has seen allegations and counter allegations between teachers and the vice-chancellor but important questions – the way the course was passed and the people who passed it – remain unanswered. The order passed by the University Grants Commission against FYUP, however, says something entirely different. It says the FYUP is not in accordance with the 10+2+3 system of education enshrined in the National Education Policy of 1986. The question, then, is that a majority of academic council members decided to ignore the National Education Policy or were they not aware of it? Or do they think that the policy was not violated? If members in support of the programme are convinced that the system will work for the betterment of the university and its students, they need to come out and tell us why. So far, only the vice-chancellor has spoken about the programme’s virtues and he too has not had a direct debate with its detractors. On the other hand, if the members passed the course even though they were not convinced of its merits, they are to share the blame for the upheaval that the university now finds itself in. A number of them say that the course should be rolled back, but now, why not then. Government funded educational institutions are given a tag of autonomy to ensure that they are above political and business interests and each member of the institution is able to take decisions independently. Regulatory bodies, on the other hand, are to ensure that all decisions taken are within the ambit of law. Both seem to have failed to perform their duties in this case. With the University Grants Commission ordering Delhi University to scrap the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), the fate of students who had already enrolled in the course is uncertain.The university may have stuck to its guns for now, but students are a worried lot. Teachers opposing the programme had earlier come out with a suggestion under which those students who have taken admission under the B Tech courses can be given an option to exit after three years with a BSc (honours) degree while those who want to continue for   a  year  will  be given  a
B Tech degree. A meeting between UGC Chairman and DU Vice Chancellor recently concluded. Government sources informed that during the briefing to the HRD Minister Smriti Irani, UGC Chairman stated that the Delhi University had not taken approval of the visitor (President of India) for the FYUP, nor the mandatory clearance of UGC. It was also learnt that the previous Government mislead the Parliament regarding the president’s nod, thus amounting to a lack of legal validity to the FYUP. Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on Monday said that her Ministry will not intervene in a row between the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Delhi University regarding admissions under its controversial Four Year Undergraduate Program. Talking to reporters, the Minister said, “St Stephens and Delhi University are fully aware that UGC is supreme. The HRD Ministry will not intervene in it. The Delhi University must comply with the UGC order.” The statement from the HRD Minister came shortly after her meeting with the UGC officials even as various students’ bodies continued to protest outside the HRD Ministry and in the campus of Delhi University over the controversial FYUP. Raking up such micro-issues reeks of leftism, so let us stop it.
(The author is serving as Public Relations Officer with Jammu University.  The views expressed in this article are his own .)

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