Smriti Irani meets UGC Chief but unlikely to interfere in FYUP row

HRD minister Smriti Irani on Monday met University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Professor Ved Kumar and other officials to discuss the recent deadlock between UGC and Delhi University (DU) over the contentious four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP).

However, sources in the ministry say that they are unlikely to interfere in the matter as the UGC is supreme and the University must follow its orders.

Warning of “consequences”, the UGC had on Sunday directed DU and its colleges to admit students only under the three-year undergraduate programme from the new academic session and not under the controversial four-year one, a move hailed by both teachers’ and students’ bodies.

Setting a deadline till Monday “forenoon” for compliance, a tough-talking UGC had told a defiant DU that failure by it and all its 64 colleges to comply with the order could result in punitive action like freezing of grants.

“Under no circumstances shall the University of Delhi or any of the colleges under it admit students to the FYUP for academic year 2014-15,” the UGC said in a statement.

“Any deviation from this directive either by the University of Delhi or any of the colleges under it shall be deemed to be in contravention of the UGC Act, 1956 with its consequences,” it warned.

According to CNN-IBN, the DU will reply to UGC over this issue in the afternoon, with a ten-member committee meeting at 3 pm on Monday to discuss the same.

The current spat between UGC and DU has caused many colleges to delay the admission process. While SRCC announced its cut-offs to be released on Tuesday, St Stephen’s college had also stated earlier that their admission process would be deferred.

With PTI inputs