The University of Delhi is all set to implement the National Education Policy 2020 from the next academic year. An Academic Council meeting that ended in mixed results decided that NEP 2020 should be implemented from the academic year 2022-23 but the decision to develop and implement Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) through the much-promoted SWAYAM platform has been put on hold. The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) have said that they will protest the decision and have called for a strike on August 24.
The Standing Committee on Academic Matters of the Academic Council that met on August 23 said that the recommendation of the NEP Implementation Committee will be taken into consideration keeping a few aspects in mind. "The quality of the degree conferred by the university should not be compromised. Accordingly, the existing structure and workload should continue along with the addition of various courses under Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses (AECC), Skill Enhancement Courses (SEC), Value Addition Courses (VAC) and so on so as to make it holistic and multidisciplinary," said the committee.
The Multiple Entry and Exit Scheme (MEES) has been discussed and criticised heavily by the DUTA. But the committee said that the MEES can be implemented on the condition that it does not degrade the "standard of education" and the four-year degrees in line with the ABC plan can also be implemented but the three-year courses will continue. "The MEES and Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) shall be implemented in the university, keeping in view the maintenance of standard of education by emphasising on the core courses in the university and allowing the credits to be earned from other universities with respect to other courses," said the committee. "The university shall retain the three-year honours degree as well as assimilate in its structure, the four-year honours degree and the four-year honours degree with research," it added.
The decision passed was not unanimous. Three out of 27 members present, dissented to the proposal. The DUTA said that they will protest in front of the VC's office on August 24 and have caked for a strike. "The University administration will have to face greater opposition tomorrow both inside and outside the Academic Council. The DUTA has called for a strike and protest outside the VC's Office on the matter," said Dr Abha Dev Habib, Treasurer, DUTA.
The teachers said that the experience of the four year degree courses in 2013 have shown that students rejected the idea of additional expenditure for the fourth year. "Survey amongst students (in 2013) showed that they were spending close to Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh per year to stay in Delhi for their education. Students rejected the idea because of the dilution of the syllabus in the first two years of the programme. We see that the new model once again packs first two semesters with lukewarm courses," said Dr Habib.
Neither the NEP nor the committee that met yesterday, said anything about infrastructure development for the extra year, said teachers. "There is no promise of grants for the additional year. There will be an additional burden on infrastructure. Most colleges do not have any space for further expansion," said DUTA officials. "The Standing Committee had to defer the agenda on implementation of SWAYAM because of the opposition," they added.
