Delhi University: Professors fear students’ right to ‘choose’ subjects in 4-year UG course may get revoked

The Executive Council of Delhi University is due to make a decision on Saturday that would determine if students undertaking the institution’s 4-year UG program would have the ‘choice’ to select the subjects under the minor degree course, according to a TOI report. The agenda proposes that certain subjects in the course should be treated as “mandatory” in the revised syllabi, for the students to be awarded under the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS). Annexure 4.23 of the EC agenda states that some subjects have been marked as “mandatory to get a minor degree”.

This has brought forth a critical concern, dividing the institution’s faculty members. A senior faculty member of a college in the North Campus said that the logic behind this decision is questionable. The member believes that the university is imposing subjects on students who chose to take a course that they were promised would be flexible and interdisciplinary, as mentioned in the National Education Policy 2020.

“To get the minor degree, the student will inevitably opt for that subject. This raises many questions. What is the purpose of the list? Why would a student select a subject that ultimately fails to contribute to a degree? Previously, every student had the liberty to choose any subject from the list, but now it undermines the whole purpose of having this system,” the faculty member said.

The faculty member highlighter another inconsistency in the proposed revision.

“The document also shows the placement of certain papers has been changed. In one of the colleges, this will lead to the teaching of a paper that has already been taught in the main course under ‘mandatory’ again. This change would also become an issue for the first batch of students, who are now in their fifth semester. But an official in DU believes otherwise. “It will be flexible for the batch entering the fifth semester. We do not want to inconvenience them. The purpose behind this is to develop foundational knowledge. All departments were asked which subjects they wanted to make mandatory before the decision was taken,” said Professor K Ratnabali, the dean of academic activities and projects at DU.

However, there are members who disagree with his opinion. They fear that this decision, if taken now, would make the efforts make in by students and teachers alike, go in vain.

“If they implement this retrospectively, the efforts of all the students and teachers will be in vain. We have been preparing for the forthcoming semester. If everything changes all of a sudden, we will have to start from scratch, and students will suffer,” a DU professor said.