New UGC norms don’t align with DU system, say teachers

With the University Grants Commission (UGC) preparing new norms for undergraduate degrees, Delhi University (DU) teachers have raised concerns about the impact of the new framework on the university, whose undergraduate framework is at variance with the new draft guidelines

With the University Grants Commission (UGC) preparing new norms for undergraduate degrees, Delhi University (DU) teachers have raised concerns about the impact of the new framework on the university, whose undergraduate framework is at variance with the new draft guidelines.

DU vice chancellor Yogesh Singh said on Friday that the university has already enrolled students on the basis of its existing guidelines and will continue to offer honours degrees after three years. (HT Archive)

According to the UGC’s “Curriculum and credit framework for four-year undergraduate programmes (FYUP)”, which is expected to come out next week, students will be awarded a bachelor’s degree after three years and an undergraduate honours degree only after completing a four-year course. This doesn’t align with DU’s undergraduate curriculum framework, which offers a bachelor’s with honours degree after three years.

DU teachers have also raised concerns about the inconsistency between the credit requirement outlined in the undergraduate curriculum frameworkand the UGC framework. According to UGC, as many as 40 credits will be required for a certificate, 80 will be needed for a diploma, 120 for a degree and 160 credits will be needed for a degree with honours and research. DU’s undergraduate curriculum framework, however, proposed 176 credits for a four-year honours and research degree.

Naveen Gaur, DU faculty and academic council member, said a change in UGC norms might mean more changes to the undergraduate curriculum framework that the university implemented this year. “The UGC draft shared earlier mandates 160 credits for a four-year degree, which is far less than what DU has adopted right now. If UGC imposes new norms outlining an honours degree only after four years, we will see more changes to the course curriculum,” said Gaur.

He added that the university had witnessed the imposition of the semester system, FYUP, rollback of FYUP, choice-based credit system (CBCS), Learning Outcome Based Curriculum Framework (LOCF), and the new curriculum framework in the past decade. “Students just took admission into a new system this year and if we go by UGC norms, then more changes are in store,” said Gaur.

DU vice chancellor Yogesh Singh said on Friday that the university has already enrolled students on the basis of its existing guidelines and will continue to offer honours degrees after three years. “Delhi University regulations have been approved by our statutory bodies and we will continue with that. We will give an honours degree after three years as we have been doing since 1980,” he said.

Teachers, however, wondered if DU will be able to exercise its autonomy if UGC were to impose the new norms on all universities. Abha Dev Habib, who teaches physics at Miranda House, said, “I appreciate the DU vice chancellor’s position but one has to take into account past developments. Over the years, the role of the university and the teachers has been reduced. We saw this in the imposition of the CBCS. It will be a big tragedy if DU is not able to exercise its autonomy.”

She said the university was in the process of getting used to a new system that had been imposed this year and more changes would thrust it into an adverse situation. “We have just rolled out a new programme. We have not been able to prepare the entire coursework for any course. The entire syllabi are not known. Students have just come to the university without really knowing the course content. Another round of changes will destabilise the university,” said Habib.