Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has called for a regular, twice-yearly recruitment of permanent staff to strengthen the university's academic backbone.
The Academic Council session was marked by sharp dissent from several members over hiring practices, academic reforms, and recent policy decisions. An official DU statement said that the vice-chancellor urged colleges to prioritise filling permanent positions and reduce dependence on guest faculty.
He also suggested that institutions facing infrastructure constraints look for support from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), cautioning that the financing window "may not remain available indefinitely."
The AC cleared amendments to PhD coursework guidelines, effective from the 2025-26 academic session. The new framework standardises credit requirements at 12–16 and mandates components including research methodology, publication ethics, and training in research tools to ensure uniformity across departments.
AC member Maya John issued a detailed dissent note condemning the university's decision to challenge a Delhi High Court order on regularising ad hoc teachers in the Department of Germanic and Romance Studies. She called for the withdrawal of the special leave petition and reiterated the requirement for transparency and fairness in faculty appointments.
The AC approved instructions for providing financial assistance to DU delegates presenting at the top-ranked global universities or reputed national bodies. The framework comprises criteria for assessing non-academic organisers to control conference travel support.
John said she had submitted multiple "notes of action" with regard to anomalies in the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), confusion created by withdrawn GE notifications, and the denial of certain DSE options to BA Multidisciplinary students.
She also pointed out irregularities in the screening and interview processes for permanent posts, calling for a fact-finding committee.
Several faculty representatives opposed the newly introduced Academic Performance Indicator (API) benchmarks for guest faculty and condemned the retrospective placement of travel-grant instructions before the AC for approval.
The council sanctioned DU's affiliation for postgraduate medical courses ranging from anaesthesia and general medicine to surgery, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and others at the Indian Railways Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (IRPGIMSR) under the Northern Railway Central Hospital.
Sinha also questioned the confusion created by multiple revisions to fourth-year dissertation guidelines issued on September 30.
She discussed several requirements, comprising a 120-page translation component, dual external assessment for the entrepreneurship track, and compulsory geotagged video submissions unrealistic for undergraduate students, leaving both teachers and students uncertain about compliance.