DU Academic Council to meet on December 24 to discuss the four-year undergraduate programme

Updated on: Friday, December 21, 2012

Delhi University's top academic body will meet next week to consider clearing the structure of a proposed 4-year undergraduate programme, but critics of the course are already raising objections over the meeting's agenda and lack of clarity over the shift to a new system.
 
The Academic Council is set to meet on December 24 to discuss the four-year undergraduate programme that has been touted as revolutionary by the Vice Chancellor.
 
The programme will entail a shift from the present 10+2+3 scheme to a four year graduation with multiple exit points and freedom to complete remaining years over a period of time.
 
In a letter to the Dean of Faculty of Arts, Prof H S Prasad in a meeting today, five teachers raised several observations and demanded that their letter be placed in the AC meeting.
 
The University aims to introduce the 4-year programme from the academic session 2013-14. The teachers demanded greater clarity as to why this shift from the current system is beneficial and what ramifications it will have.
 
"The agenda papers (for AC meeting) do not cite or reflect any national survey or report supporting this shift. We are in the 10+2+3 scheme under a National Policy and the ramifications of making such a shift have to be studied thouroughly.
 
"The concept paper does not present a critique of the existing system and how this shift to four year graduation programme would adress the problems in the exisitng structure," read the letter.
 
The left-backed Democratic Teachers' Front, a known critic of the new programme, also accused the Vice Chancellor of scuttling the process of consultations.
 
"The Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF) is appalled that the VC is brazenly making a false claim to have consulted a large section of teachers, students and parents about the 4-years model, even as teachers of at least five departments...  are formally demanding General Body Meetings of their respective departments through which they hope to raise their concerns and fears about the attempted overhaul," it said in a statement.

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