UGC attacking DU's autonomy, says former chief of teachers union

A former president of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) today hit out at the University Grants Commission (UGC) saying the letter sent to the university ordering it to revert to a three-year degree course was an attack on its autonomy. “The UGC letter is an attack on Delhi University’s (DU) autonomy. Through a conspiracy an attempt is being made to destroy DU’s autonomy,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, former president of the DUTA. [caption id=“attachment_1584885” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Mishra said, “What will we teach when we don’t have the freedom to decide the university’s course structure? Tomorrow will we be told to propagate government policies in our classrooms?” Pointing out that many other universities had four-year programmes, he said, “Where was national policy when universities in all states except DU has 2 year courses? Where is the national policy on fees structure and retirement?” He said, “UGC rules say that a course has to be a minimum of 3 years. And we are complying with that.” The standoff between DU and UGC came to a head on Sunday, with the UGC ordering DU to abandon its controversial four-year honours programme, failing which it threatened action under the UGC Act. The university has also been directed to report compliance by forenoon on Monday “without fail”. The university had ignored a similar directive from the UGC on Friday, choosing instead to ask the governing body to reconsider its stand. DU’s Academic Council passed a resolution saying students seeking admission to undergraduate programmes would be admitted in the three-year Bachelor’s Programme (B.A/B.SC/B.Com) in their Discipline 1 (major subject) and would graduate with the corresponding degree in three years, in conformity with the National Policy on Education that recommends a 10+2+3 format. (Those opting for the honours programme would have to do the fourth year.) The Delhi University VC Dinesh Singh is reportedly said to be meeting with principals of constituent colleges in a bid to garner support for the measure. However the latest news coming in is that the HRD Ministry has said that it will not interfere in the issue, and that the UGC decision will remain supreme.