Delhi University students expressed mixed feelings on Monday over the UGC’s order to rollback the four-year undergraduate programme and convert it to a three-year course.

“I don’t want complete rollback of FYUP as the option of pursuing two discipline papers is one of the most important characteristics of the programme,” said Anamika, a second-year student at Gargi College.

The current system exposes students to two subjects and helps them decide which one to pursue for a masters degree, she added.

The University Grants Commission ordered the varsity to conduct admissions for the upcoming academic year in the three-year structure and make arrangements for students already enrolled in the four-year course.

‘UGC intentions’

It also directed the university to take the necessary steps to stick to the three-year-long undergraduate programme as envisaged under 10+2+3 structure under the National Policy on Education of 1986.

“I want the FYUP to be scrapped as foundation courses and project works take away a lot of time and we hardly

get time to prepare for the main papers. The time period should be brought down to three years,” said Adrita, a second-year political science student.

A group of students who assembled at North Campus on Monday raised questions over the intentions of the UGC.

“If the UGC states that it has the right to direct DU on what should be done then why weren’t these actions taken last year?” asked a student in the group. 

“By this decision, the worst-affected would be those pursuing Bachelors in Technology and Bachelors in Management Studies as these degrees can be provided only under a four-year plan,” said Ansh, a BTech student from Maharja Agrasen College.

‘In a mess’

Squeezing a three-year-long curriculum in two years would result in a mess, added Ansh.
Students also objected to the UGC’s move saying there are already more than 10 universities in our country which follow the four-year programme, including government universities like Ambedkar University.

The commission formed a standing committee to facilitate student migration from the four-year-long module. The panel comprises representatives from teacher, student and statutory bodies of the DU.

Meanwhile, the DUTA

proposed to the UGC that all foundation and applied courses be scrapped and students be offered three discipline-1 and one discipline-2 papers each in the third and fourth semesters and four DC-1 papers in the fifth and sixth semesters with a honours degree in three years.

For BTech students, the fourth year should be retained, the DUTA proposed.