The top academic body of Delhi University (DU) on Saturday set up a committee to further examine a proposal to allow students to pursue up to five per cent of their syllabus online in the face of stiff opposition.
The academic council, chaired by vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh, discussed the proposal under which an undergraduate student would be allowed to earn up to eight out of 176 credits and a postgraduate student can earn four out of 88 credits through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
The UGC has asked universities to allow students to pursue up to 40 per cent of their courses in a semester through MOOCs, which are available on the Swayam (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) platform created by the government.
Teachers from different universities have created video lectures on the courses that are available on Swayam. Students can watch the videos, clarify their doubts and appear for an online exam.
At Saturday’s meeting, academic council member Maya John said permission to earn credits online would gravely jeopardise the integrity and academic standards of the university’s UG and PG programmes. She submitted a dissent note, saying: “This measure goes against the collective wisdom of the wider academic community and statutory bodies, which recognises the importance of direct classroom-teaching and faculty mentorship in conventional degree programmes.”
Office-bearers of the DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA), met the VC and registered strong opposition, too. DUTA vice-president Sudhanshu Kumar said the DU’s strength had always been its vibrant classrooms, interactive student-teacher engagement and dynamic learning environment.
“This proposal marks a significant step towards dismantling that legacy. Courses that have traditionally thrived through discussions, debates, and direct interaction are now being quietly shifted online, not to empower education, but as a strategic attempt to sideline teachers and gradually eliminate faculty positions,” Kumar said.
The Indian National Teachers’ Congress and Academics for Action and Development also objected to the move.
New course
The academic council on Saturday approved a proposal to include a course on “Sikh Martyrdom in Indian History” under the General Elective courses at the UG level from the current academic year.
The course has been developed by the Centre for Independence and Partisan Studies.
“The objective of this course is to understand the historical context associated with the Sikh community and major historical examples of Sikh martyrdom, religious persecution and resistance against hegemonic state oppression,” a media release issued by the DU said.
John presented a dissent note, saying that the entire history of Mughals and Sikhs had been reduced to religious persecution and religious bigotry.