Students take on unions

Some Delhi University students took on their unions over the contentious four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP).

This interesting encounter happened on Monday when several first year students had taken an off on Monday to visit the university campus, where students’ unions are protesting over the rollback of FYUP.

“Have you studied under FYUP?” asked Sparsh Singhal, a first year student of Computer Science to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Delhi state secretary, Saket Bahuguna. 

When this heated debate kicked off, four National Students’ Union Of India (NSUI) members were reeling under the heat on the third day of their hunger strike against the programme introduced last year.

Singhal said the courses taught under FYUP allow practical application of knowledge.
“I can develop a mobile app. But if I don’t know how to sell it, it will be of no use,” he said, suggesting the foundation courses in business have been an enriching experience for him.

He bulldozed opponents with yet another argument. “Imagine if the IIT-alumnus who started Flipkart knew how to start a business, he could have done it while he was still in college,” said Singhal.

Going around the campus, Singhal and his friends engaged themselves in serious debates and heated conversations.

Ansh Goyal, a first-year student who is studying B Tech at Maharaja Agrasen College said he was ‘pained to see seniors playing politics’ over FYUP.

“They are all Masters or final year students. They didn’t even ask for our opinion,” said Goyal, arguing why the opposition over the four-year undergrad programme calls for an inclusive debate.

“They are talking about the curriculum, but not about the practicality of the course,” he added.

‘False propaganda’

“It is a false propaganda against FYUP and our plan is to not let the aspiring students get affected,” said Shivam Jain, another student who was part of the group that took on their seniors.

Jain and his friends claimed that the surveys conducted by the student unions doesn’t reflect the ‘majority’s view’.

The debate was inconclusive, but these students had made their points.

“They have definitely been sent by somebody. I saw them roaming around,” said an ABVP member, after the students had dispersed.