Delhi University is likely to introduce its first four-year graduation course from Monday, when the university opens after summer break.
Admission dates for the course will be decided once a final decision is taken in the next meeting on Sunday.
During a meeting conducted by vice chancellor Dinesh Singh on Saturday, the much-hailed BTech in Humanities and Masters of Mathematical Education were passed by members as models for meta-university and meta-college courses.
Principals, dean of faculty, members of college committees and elected members of the faculty attended the meeting. While a majority agreed to the introduction of the two courses, six members opposed them.
“Our first problem was with this process of making policy decisions in emergent meetings which is uncalled for. Secondly, why did the university not take any suggestions from teachers who are also stakeholders in this matter?” said Amitava Chakravarty from the academic council, one of the highest decision-making bodies of the university.
Members opposed to this decision also highlighted that MA in Mathematics has only two Maths papers and others are related to Media Law and Ethics. “When students step out of college they will not have a specialisation in Maths and will be confused on what to do,” added Chakravarty.
Course proposal
According to a proposal discussed in the meeting, students who opt for the humanities course will spend the first and the eighth semester at the new Cluster Innovation Centre. In the first semester, students will be taught a paper in Mathematical Awareness, Art of Communication, Impact of Technology, Cultural Diversity and Linguistic Plurality and Research Methods.
During the second and seventh semester, students will get an opportunity to choose courses from different colleges within five streams namely Journalism, Education, Counselling, Historical Tourism, and Art and Design.
Jamia Millia Islamia University will offer English for Media Communication, Advertising, Contemporary India and the World we live in, Development Journalism, Media Management, Public Relations and Corporate Communication, Media Law and Ethics, Mass Communication Theory and Media Research to students who will pursue Masters in Mathematics Education.
“Can you find any connection or relevance between these courses and Maths or education? The VC’s response to this in the meeting was that every time he goes to teach in a class, he spends five minutes in doing advertisement for Maths,” said Abha Dev Habib, Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) member.
Credit Transfer
As far as the transfer of credits from one university to another is concerned, some members have opposed it saying the proposal is unclear on what basis will the authorities decide from which university can a student pursue the next paper.
But the VC said this will help to build public-private partnerships between DU and private universities. However, the decision is on hold till the next meeting.
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