DU Academic Council meet today, to discuss strategic plan

Citing increasing costs, the plan will also look to expand philanthropic support and raise ₹100 crore annually to meet DU’s priorities

The Delhi University academic council is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the varsity’s revised strategic plan 2022-2047, which envisages an emphasis on research, international collaborations, and improved infrastructure.

The Delhi University’s academic council was unable to delve into the plan during its last meet on November 30. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Citing increasing costs, the plan will also look to expand philanthropic support and raise ₹100 crore annually to meet DU’s priorities, apart from receiving funds from the government.

The academic council was unable to delve into the plan during its last meet on November 30, following which, the university issued a notice on December 1, calling for the “emergent meeting” to discuss the document.

The plan focuses on improving the research ecosystem by collaborating with universities abroad, graded incentives for publications and building research labs within departments, which have also been encouraged to develop specialised centres for research and training.

With regards to infrastructure, the document looks to reinforce existing buildings with tech-enabled classrooms that allow remote connectivity, libraries with robust access to journals, e-books, data platforms, and workstations, among others.

Regarding tuitions and student debt, the document states, “The University of Delhi as a public institution committed to providing broad access to quality education has demonstrated its commitment to affordability by keeping fees affordable. Therefore, to maintain access to the university for all, one must keep the fundraising priorities to ensure financial aid, especially for students with greater need.”

However, this drew criticisms from teachers, who said that this might lead to a departure from public funding and scholarships. Pankaj Kumar Garg, chairman of Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC), said, “On paper, the document looks great but such plans would require crores of rupees. The document does not clearly specify the funding source. We are apprehensive that it would lead to fee hikes and taking higher education financing agency (HEFA) loans.”

The plan was also criticised over allegations that parts had been lifted from documents of other universities, such as Ohio State University and University of Sheffield. The Democratic Teachers’ Front issued a statement, demanding the withdrawal of the “plagarised” document.