Delhi UniversityThe idea of revising the credit system in the fourth year of the UGCF has sparked opposition from teachers’ groups. Faculty representatives say that these changes were introduced without the approval of the university’s official bodies. Teachers have also complained about the impact of the revised policy on education, the workload of students and the role of teachers.The objections come after the university issued a notice on Friday to revise the credit allocation for the fourth year of the Four-Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP). The revised structure will be implemented from the 2026-27 academic session.
What reforms did Delhi University introduce?
Under the revised plan, the university has increased the writing credits from six to 10 and reduced the number of Discipline Specific Core (DSC) papers.According to this notification, courses enrolled under DSC in the seventh and eighth semesters of all UG programs under the UGCF 2022 can now be transferred to the Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) pool.Students entering the fourth year will now be required to choose three courses in each of the 7th and 8th semesters, in addition to their studies. They can choose three DSEs, two DSEs and Generic Electives (GE), or one DSE and two GEs.
Teachers question the decision-making process
The revised policy has been criticized by several teachers’ representatives, who said that the university introduced the change without putting the policy in front of the Academic Council and the Executive Council, the official bodies responsible for approving major academic decisions.According to PTI, Academic Council member Rajesh Jha Mishra said that the university had ignored the established procedures and re-instituted higher education.“By pushing for a major overhaul of the UGCF through the Registrar’s notification and bypassing the Academic Council and the Executive Council completely, the university has ignored due process. This decision will unnecessarily burden fourth-year students,” Mishra said, as reported by PTI.Executive Council member Mithuraaj Dhusiya also criticized what he described as a top-down approach in introducing the changes.According to PTI reports, Dhusiya said that such necessary changes in education should have been discussed with the university authorities. He said that imposing a compulsory and optional paper would weaken the curriculum while reducing the quality of education provided by departments and teachers.
DTF flags are affected by workload and training
The Delhi Teachers’ Front (DTF) also criticized the revised order, asking why the university did not call meetings of the Academic Council or the Executive Council before issuing the notification.According to PTI, DTF secretary Abha Dev Habib said reducing the only compulsory criminal paper in the fourth year would weaken the educational foundation of students. He also said that increasing the number of reading lessons from six to 10 would increase students’ progress without ensuring that they are adequately supported.Habib said that teachers have to supervise more than 10 students along with their teaching responsibilities. He also warned that the revised system could increase the workload of faculty members and increase student stress.
The university needs to answer
Delhi University has not yet issued a public response to the objections raised by the teachers’ unions and elected teachers’ representatives. The fourth year loan scheme is set to come into effect from the 2026-27 academic session.(With inputs from PTI)