No enlightenment at DU Buddhist studies department
No space to hold class, foreign students feel cheated
Delhi University officials do not care for the teachings of Buddha, it seems.
The department of Buddhist Studies at the arts faculty has been struggling for survival due to lack of manpower and infrastructure. The department has at least 300 students in its postgraduate and other programmes. The department professors say they feel “neglected”. Their requests for bigger classrooms to accommodate all students have fallen on deaf ears.
“The department has 254 seats in MA first-year and over 500 seats in second year. There are 25 seats for MPhil students, 50 for PhD and 100 for certificate and diploma courses,” said KTS Sarao, head of the department.
“If all seats were filled, the number comes to 700 students. But we have only two small classrooms with a maximum seating capacity of 40 students. Where do we accommodate the rest?,” said Sarao.
After repeated complaints over lack of space, DU officials shifted the Math department to a new building and asked the Buddhist Studies department to use the classes vacated by math students.
“We have not been able to use those classes for the last 10 years. Math classes still go on there,” said Sarao.
“They told us that there is no space in the new building for them. DU officials asked us to hold classes in evening, which we are doing, but still the situation is not getting better,” added Sarao.
“We feel neglected. Pursuing Buddhist Studies is a waste of time, that’s what DU officials told me in private,” said Sarao.
The Buddhist Studies department has a student strength of 50 and 100 in its MA first- and second-year respectively in 2011-12 session.
“Ideally, the department should have 30 permanent teaching faculty members. We have six, and only two are professors. There are 22 vacancies and no recruitment has been done for the last 15 years,” Sarao said.
Foreign students give an extra amount of money apart from the tuition fee to DU through the Foreign Students’ Advisory Authority.
“Every international student gives an extra $500 (Rs 25,000). As this department gets international students in plenty, it is unfair not to use their money for upkeep of the department,” said Sarao.
“In 1993, this department was also placed under the Additional Resource Generation Fund (ARGF). International students were required to pay an extra $100 (Rs 5,000), and 60 per cent of it would be used to maintain the department,” said Sarao.
He said the 60 per cent allocation was limited to research students who wanted to create something new. If the idea was commercially successful, the royalty would go to the university, and 60 per cent of it would be used by the department.
“Although ARGF was stopped in 1995, students continued to pay the extra $100,” Sarao claimed.
Students say they feel cheated as they do not even get basic facilities.
“The rooms are crammed. The situation is so bad that two persons can’t walk into a classroom at the same time. The windows are in disrepair,” said MA second-year student Dai Sung Han from South Korea.
“Other departments have seminar rooms, labs, special AC rooms, etc. But we have nothing. We want to know where our money is going,” said Han.
Han alleged that the department has a library but students are not allowed to use it.
“Shortage of staff is the main problem. Either I take classes, handle the department’s other requirements or sit at the library and keep a note of books issued and returned,” said another professor.
A senior DU official said there is space crunch at some departments. “We are doing what we can to improve the situation,” the official added.
