No infrastructure crunch: DU V-C

In a bid to find out whether Delhi University colleges actually suffered from acute classroom crunch, the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor along with his team paid a surprise visit to two campus colleges on Monday afternoon.

In a bid to find out whether Delhi University colleges actually suffered from acute classroom crunch, the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor along with his team paid a surprise visit to two campus colleges on Monday afternoon.

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The team entered Ramjas College at 3pm to find most classrooms vacant. According to students, the bulk of classes take place before 2pm.

The scene was similar at Kirori Mal College, with a number of classrooms lying vacant while a few classes were taking place in others.

"Where is the infrastructure crunch? The classrooms are lying vacant. The time table needs to be prepared in such a manner to as to ensure maximum utilization of space within the allotted time," said Dinesh Singh, vice chancellor.

According to another member of the VC's entourage, most teachers prefer to finish taking classes by lunch which is the reason why classrooms are packed in the first half and vacant in the second half.

Singh spoke to a number of students about the new Four-Year Undergraduate Programme and the foundation courses.

In a classroom filled with B Com students, Singh spoke about the usage of a concept like prime numbers in daily life and encryption. When a student said that the foundation courses were silly, Singh spoke about the need to move beyond what is given in the text book and work towards innovation using these seemingly simple concepts.

At Kirori Mal College, Singh spoke to students studying Hindi, asking them to come out with e-newspapers to get a better grasp of language and augment their written communication skills.

"You should use the laptops that will be distributed soon to start projects such as e-newspapers and internet radio stations. The opportunities to learn are endless. You need to learn to manage your time better," he said.

The university administration has planned similar visits in the coming weeks.

"We are also planning to call small groups of those teachers who teach foundation courses to understand how each of them are teaching and what methods they are employing," Singh added.

The university also plans to recognize the contribution of teachers who devise innovative ways to teach the foundation courses. These teachers will be sent for special trainings across the world.