The Academic Council of the University of Delhi (DU) recorded dissent on Friday, August 11, regarding the steep fee structures of the recently introduced courses, reports The New Indian Express. The council highlighted the impact of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) loans and the concept of "autonomy".
According to council members, this regulation seems to shift the expense on students and their parents. Dr Vikas Gupta, an elected member of the academic council, lamented, "It is very sad that DU is bowing down before such models at the completion of its hundred years. Even in the Gandhian model of self-sufficient education, it was the state to provide all financial support. The academic institutions were to be governed in a manner that involved the stakeholder community. This is yet another death of the Gandhian idea of higher education and the Liberal idea of a university that Ambedkar championed. Is this what we heard of the Amrit Kal?"
He further added, "The idea is driven from the community colleges in the US (United States) where even the shares are invested in the market. It is a model of selling education resulting in heavy fee hikes garbed under the pretext of concessions and scholarships. It also clearly implies the exclusion of the bulk majority of historically deprived and financially weaker sections of Indian society."
He further remarked, "The inspiration seems to be drawn from US community colleges, where investments are even made in the market. It's a model that commodifies education, resulting in significant fee hikes masked by claims of discounts and scholarships. This effectively excludes the historically marginalised and financially vulnerable segments of Indian society."
The dissenting note submitted to the authorities stated, "With the autonomy given to the University, the varsity will have to generate its own funds. The regulation aims at pushing the expense of expansion on the shoulders of students and parents. Operationalisation of this autonomy would mean that all courses henceforth will be in self-financing mode and employees, both teaching and non-teaching, hired for these new courses/ departments etc will be on contract basis."
"University of Delhi is known for affordable education. This is a major blow to the idea of inclusion and education for all. The regulation will starve the University unless it incorporates the running cost of new programmes/courses/departments into student fees. We dissent on the agenda item as it stands against the idea of inclusion and affordable education. It stands against the very idea of University of Delhi and public funded education," the note concluded.
