Withdraw CBCS to prevent chaos: DUTA to HRD ministry

The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) on Thursday wrote to Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani seeking deferment of the choice-based credit system (CBCS) at the University of Delhi to prevent illegalities and chaos.

The letter, a copy of which was also sent to the University Grants Commission's chairman, was issued on the first day of the admissions at the university.

DUTA said while the university's vice-chancellor had informed members of the executive council at its meeting held on May 28 that the CBCS would be implemented in the university from the academic session 2015-16, "no mention of the CBCS has been provided for the students seeking admission either in the information handout or the online information bulletin or in any other form".

"Moreover, the course structure and syllabi under CBCS have still not been brought before the academic council and the executive council. As per Section 7(4) of the Delhi University Act 'The courses and curricula shall be prescribed by the Ordinances and, subject thereto, by the Regulations'.

"This means that the only courses which exist as on date are the courses to which students were admitted last academic year (2014-15)," the DUTA said.

DUTA added that hence the batch of students taking admission from Thursday can only be given admission to the existing courses.

"Students who have taken admission today have filled the college admission forms as per the existing course-curriculum," it said.

The DUTA also said repeated efforts were made to draw the ministry's and the UGC's attention to the "hurried manner" in which the CBCS was being introduced following their directives.

"The vice-chancellor has made it clear that the decision to implement CBCS from this year itself is in consequence of these directives. As a result, statutory processes have been given the go by and discussion disallowed to an extent that even exceeds what happened with FYUP (Four Years Undergraduate Programme)."

Calling for "immediate intervention" so that implementation of CBCS is deferred, the DUTA said: "Otherwise the thousands of students taking admission to the university this year will be subjected to far greater illegalities and chaos than the ones from which students of the FYUP batch were rescued last year."