JOIN USWhile entering the Faculty of Arts in Delhi University, if you look straight ahead a long queue of students greets your eyes but the moment your gaze shifts to the ground, endlessly strewn pamphlets, leaflets and such like notes, grab your
attention.
Do they talk about the process of filling up forms or do they provide information about the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP)?
Each one it appears, is addressing the issues and problems related to the FYUP. Every single pamphlet you pick is questioning the benefits of the new graduation system to be introduced from this session. Not only that, there are some urging students to join the protests to abolish the FYUP. For the first time, the cause seems to have united even the student political parties.
The pamphlets are being circulated by different unions like Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), All India Student’s Association, Left and Democratic Teacher’s Forum, Student Federation of India and All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO).
These unions aim to build up a student’s movement against anti-education policies and have volunteers present at the Arts Faculty to apprise everyone of their motto. Even on the first day of the admission they together protested against FYUP.
But what surprises one is that most of these volunteers are helping kids in filling their forms too!
Hundreds of volunteers bearing badges like ‘May I help you’ can be seen under the shade of trees and tents helping students filling up forms. “We are providing assistance to these students because it’s our duty as a student union but at the same time we want to let them know that people in administration are playing with their future,” says Rahul Sarkar of AIDSO.
“DU Vice Chancellor has been instrumental in implementing the FYUP in an undemocratic way by bypassing all established norms and we are opposing this move. We are conducting signature campaigns, public meetings and seminars which have turned out to be fruitful. On the basis of that we will soon file a petition in the court,” says Rahul.
Pointing out unwillingness of applicants to read 35-page booklet given with the OMR sheet, Bhupinder Tiwari of CYSS says, “Students have simple queries which could have been given in a simple brochure. Nobody wants to read the lengthy brochure and that is why they are approaching us. Therefore, we increased the number of volunteers from day one itself.”
Reiterating similar views is Sujeet Kumar of KYS, also a research scholar in DU, “We are welcoming students to DU but we want to draw their attention towards the fact that they won’t be able to take the admission in the college and the course of their choice because the option of choosing courses is rather limited this time.
With the changed syllabus, many colleges won’t be offering a spectrum of courses. Different colleges are offering only limited number of courses in Discipline I and II. So, at the time of the final admission it will really become tough for students to select a college and course.”