Delhi University departments have missed the Friday deadline for submitting the first draft for revising 54 undergraduate courses. While several departments are still figuring out the formation of the committee, a few had written to the university seeking more time.
As per the University Grants Commission’s Learning Outcome-Based Framework (UGC-LOCF), the university has said the course revision committee will consist of the head of department (HOD), the department convener, three best teachers selected by the HOD and two student representatives.
However, department heads say such a revision can’t be carried out with the input of a few teachers. Raj Kumar, English department HOD, pointed out that for the seven core papers, they had seven coordinators. “Even before the university letter came, the department has started revising the syllabus in a major way. English is a subject offered in all 68 constituent colleges and across all streams.
For this, we already have seven core constituencies and coordinators. In a day or two, we will look into it and also write to the university,” said Kumar. The Sanskrit department head, Sharda Sharma, said they were trying to figure out the guidelines to select “three best teachers”. Veena Kukreja, HOD of the political science department, said, “We cannot decide who are the ‘best three’ in our department. The department has written to the colleges asking teachers to give their suggestions.
On the guidelines to be followed by the department in revising the syllabus, Kukreja said there had been some guidelines from UGC, “but we will ask our teachers about what is to be taught and will finalise our syllabus based on that”. A senior teacher said the UGC guidelines amounted to massive curtailment of autonomy the universities were enjoying. “This is a sinister agenda to impose monolithic block being introduced to push a certain agenda,” he added. In 2015, too, when Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) was implemented, UGC had given a draft guideline and the departments had adapted them as per their need.
Executive council member Rajesh Jha said LOCF had undermined the role of statutory bodies of the universities.
