DU vice chancellor defends four-year undergraduate programme

Slamming his detractors, Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh Saturday said the four-year undergraduate programme was not an eccentric brainwave of one man, and that the university brass was not a "bunch of doofuses" wrecking the system.

Speaking on TV channel Headlines Today, Singh said: "It's a big decision. It's not that one man woke up one day and decided to change the system. Do you think everybody here is a bunch of doofuses, who decided to wreck the system."

"Please give us some credit, there's some wisdom on our side. The academic council, the academic congress and executive council held massive consultations and more than 3,000 teachers participated in the syllabus-making process," he added.

Slamming allegations that students would lose a crucial year in the job market, Singh said it was not compulsory for students to stay for four years and that they can get a bachelor's degree with a major in a subject in three years.

"If it's bothering you, you can exit in three years. And then you can come back within 10 years and complete your four-year degree," he said.

He added that the new system would curb the dropout rate.

"The dropout rate in Delhi University is 30 percent annually and eight percent quit in the third year. Now, you can at least leave with a piece of paper and come back after 10 years and complete your third year and fourth year. Your admission is guaranteed," Singh said.

Arguing that students will get a competitive edge in the job market, Singh said: "Four weeks ago, we invited a major corporate house for campus recruitment. Of the 1,100 students, only three were found eligible. This speaks volumes about our education system."