CBCS: Doing as 'mandated' by UGC, says DU; teachers cry foul

Delhi University has said it is going for the implementation of the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) as "mandated" by UGC even as a section of teachers claimed that statutory bodies are being reduced to "rubber stamps" in order to enforce the directive.
"The DU Executive Council and Academic Council have approved CBCS and the university has implemented it as 'mandated' by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
"DU is fully prepared to introduce it and will abide by the UGC guidelines in toto," a senior varsity official said.
Ending confusion among candidates seeking admission to its undergraduate programmes, DU's Executive Council (EC) had on Thursday passed the proposal for the implementation of CBCS, thereby clearing a major legal hurdle.

Some council members, however, claimed the university was "arm twisting" them and reducing statutory bodies into being "rubber stamps" instead of taking the demands of teachers and students into account and conveying the same to HRD ministry.
"No discussion was allowed by the Vice Chancellor at the EC meeting. We were told by him that since UGC has asked us, we have to do it and the proposal was passed despite dissent from five members," an EC member said.

"The varsity has all the right to express its disagreement to UGC, but despite over 50 colleges rejecting it and four departments refusing to draft the CBCS syllabus, DU has not raised the issue even once with either the ministry or UGC," the member added.

"When dissent is not taken into account, what is the point of having a statutory body -- just for a rubber stamp to add legality to the proposal?" asked another EC member, who charged that "members were arm twisted into agreeing to the items on the meeting's agenda without any discussion".
"CBCS is being implemented now in the same manner in which the Four-Year Undergraduate programme (FYUP) was rolled in. And time will show that it meets the same fate as FYUP," he added.