DU Admin Directs Syllabus Revision For 12 Undergraduate Departments Including History; Sparks Protest

Delhi University’s (DU) undergraduate curriculum revision committee has directed 11 department heads, along with a college, to begin the process for revising their respective curricula for all undergraduate courses under their purview, and implement the revised syllabus starting from the academic session in 2019-20, reports Hindustan Times.

Some among the faculty have lambasted the move, calling it a ‘serious statutory violation’.

The curriculum revision directive has been sent to the computer science, history, botany, music, zoology, Sanskrit, microbiology and environmental studies departments, among others. The Indraprastha College for Women has also been asked to come up with a new curriculum.

As per the revision schedule sent out to the departments, they have to each set up a committee for coming with a revised curriculum, the first draft of which is to submitted by 29 March. A minimum of four drafts have to submitted by each departmental committee prior to the submission of the final revised curriculum.

Members belonging to the university’s executive council (EC) and the academic council (AC) have expressed their objections to the ‘manner of revising the curriculum’.

An EC Member, Rajesh Jha stated, “As per DU rules of revising syllabus, the departments would root the draft of revised curriculum through individual committees of all courses offered by any department.”

He explained that thereafter the draft is sent to each faculty for their assent, before being cleared by the standing council. It then it has to make its way through the AC and the EC. Jha claimed that all these different steps had been bypassed.

These EC and AC members have asked the university to withdraw its directive, and proceed with any curriculum revision in accordance with statutory rules.