Page 9 - Delhi University

HC sets aside DU order debarring student over screening of BBC documentary

The Delhi Court on Thursday set aside a Delhi University order debarring an NSUI leader for a year for his alleged involvement in the screening on the campus a controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said action against Lokesh Chugh, a PhD scholar and NSUI national secretary, was taken in violation of the principle of natural justice, and "reasons are necessary to be assigned by the administrative authority" in the order. "The court is unable to sustain the impugned order dated March 10, 2023. Impugned order is set aside. The admission of the petitioner is restored. Necessary consequences will follow," the judge ordered. Attorney General R Venkataramani represented the university and opposed the petition. The court clarified that since the debarment order was being set aside for a lack of adherence to the principle of natural justice, the university is free to taken action against the petitioner in accordance with law. Senior advo

DU to launch 'Panchang' on April 28 to disseminate ancient Indian knowledge

The varsity will release the Panchang with a focus on the theme 'Indian Knowledge Tradition' on the occasion of its centenary year

BBC docu: Debarred PhD scholar urges Delhi HC to allow thesis submission

The DU had told the High Court on Monday that the action of students screening the banned BBC documentary without permission, and organising protests, despite imposition of prohibitory orders, amounts

DU curates Panchang for curriculum to promote India's intellectual heritage

In a first, Delhi University has prepared a Panchang --ancient Indian knowledge system-based almanac -- for the revival and propagation of India's intellectual heritage, a varsity official said on Wednesday. The official said the Panchang is more advanced than the Western calendar and will help in the "dissemination of ancient Indian knowledge". Panchang is the annual compilation of planetary moments. In simple terms, "Panchanga" means the day, nakshatra (star), tithi, yoga and karana every day, the official said. The Panchang will be launched on April 28. Chairman of the Value Addition Courses Committee of DU, Niranjan Kumar said, "DU is releasing a Panchang for the dissemination of ancient Indian knowledge. Much more detailed and informative than the Western calendar, the Panchang contains all festivals and other important dates as well as tithi, vaar, karan, nakshatra and yog." He noted the Panchang will be a useful first step in introducing students to the rich corpus of India

DU in HC opposes NSUI leader's plea over BBC documentary screening

The Delhi University on Monday opposed in the Delhi High Court a plea by a leader of the Congress' students wing against his debarment for one year for alleged involvement in the screening of a controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying he indulged in gross indiscipline which tarnished the image of a premier educational institution. The university, in its reply filed to the petition by Ph.D. scholar and NSUI national secretary Lokesh Chugh, said it has acted on the basis of a newspaper report on "banning the BBC documentary" and several persons, including the petitioner, assembled on the campus to screen the documentary in violation of Section 144 (issuance of prohibitory orders) of Code of Criminal Procedure imposed by police authorities. The leader of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) claimed in his plea that he was not involved in the screening, and to his knowledge, there was no prohibition on the screening of the documentary. But the DU said that

Delhi University a great institution, part of India's development: Puri

The Delhi University is a great institution and India has been "very profoundly influenced" by its work, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said Friday. Speaking at an event, Puri said the institution has a great history and is a part of India's development. He was the chief guest at the university's first alumni meet. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master of Arts in History from Hindu College, University of Delhi. "The institution with which I am associated has a great history. Hindu College's association with the freedom movement is well-documented. So in many ways, the Delhi University is privileged to be part of India's development, not only in development sense in terms of academic development in terms of social movement," he said. "The Delhi University is a great institution, it has a great history. India has been very profoundly influenced by the work of this university," Puri said. Speaking at the event, DU Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh articulated that the ..

CCTVs, higher walls, measures suggested by DU panel to fortify colleges

Installing CCTV cameras, restricting entry of outsiders, hiring private security and increasing the height of boundary walls -- these were among the measures suggested by a Delhi University's panel to augment security in the wake of IP college harassment incident. The guidelines have been prepared by the DU in collaboration with Delhi Police, an official, who is part of this committee, told PTI. This is expected to be notified on Monday, the official added. "We have prepared the guidelines after holding several meetings and analysing the incident at IPCW College. We do not want the such incident be repeated in the future. "The guidelines were prepared. However, there were some inputs from the Delhi Police, we are including those as well. It will be notified on Monday," the official said. The guidelines were prepared in the wake of several all-women colleges witnessing such harassment incidents during cultural festivals. The recent incident took place at Indraprastha College for W

DU to launch two separate portals for admissions to UG, PG programmes

Delhi University will launch two separate portals for admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through the Common Seat Allocation System, a senior varsity official said on Tuesday. The university is likely to begin its admission process by May 20, he said. The admissions for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes will be through CSAS (UG) 2023 and CSAS (PG) 2023. This will be the first time the university is opting for the Common University Entrance Test for admission to post-graduate programmes. It admitted students to its 70 colleges through CUET-UG last year. Students aspiring to get into DU will have to appear for CUET(UG)-2023 and CUET (PG)-2023 as well as register on the CSAS UG and PG portal of the DU. The university is hopeful that this year the admission process would be "smoother", the official said. "We are fully prepared to take admissions to UG and PG programmes through CUET. We will be launching two separate portals for admissions to graduate and ..

Application window for CUET-UG to reopen for 3 days, no change in syllabus

The application window for CUET-UG will reopen for three days from Sunday following representation from students and there will be no change in the syllabus after rationalisation of NCERT textbooks, officials said. "Following requests from several students, we have decided to re-open the application portal for CUET-UG on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and it will close at 11.59 pm on Tuesday (11 April 2023). Students are requested to visit cuet.samarth.ac.in for more details," UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar said. Nearly 14 lakh students have applied for CUET-UG up by 41 per cent since last year. Following rationalisation of NCERT books, aspirants of undergraduate entrance exams were confused about whether it will impact the entrances. "The notified syllabus will remain the same as the exam is not just for students from a particular board. Not all boards have rationalised the content," a senior National Testing Agency (NTA) official said. CUET-UG remains the second-largest entrance exam

DU planning to give 5-year extension to professors post retirement

The Delhi University is paving the way to give professors and senior professors an extension of five years following retirement to promote research culture and re-employ research oriented academicians, a senior varsity official said on Tuesday. At present, the retirement age of the faculty is 65 years and no extension was given to teachers. The university has prepared a set of guidelines for the re-employment of "research-oriented academicians". The official, however, stated that the guidelines will only apply to professors teaching at the varsity departments, centres, schools, and institutions, and are not applicable to colleges of the university. The re-employed professors will hold the positions on a contract basis, he said. The 14-point guidelines, prepared by a committee, will be presented during the upcoming meeting of the Executive Council (the highest decision-making body of the university) on April 10 for approval. "The retirement age of academicians at the university is

Nearly 1.6 mn students register for CUET-UG, highest for DU: UGC chairman

UGC chairman also stated that there has been an increase in the number of universities participating after a 41 per cent increase in the total number of students was reported

IP College harassment: DU sets up committee to inquire into incident

Delhi University on Monday constituted a five-member committee to inquire into alleged harassment of Indraprastha College for Women students during a cultural festival last week. The committee will be headed by Prakash Singh, director of South Delhi Campus, and has been asked to submit its report within a week, a notification issued by Delhi University Registrar Vikas Gupta stated. Students at Indraprastha College for Women alleged that some men scaled the walls of the college during a fest last week and "harassed several students". "The Competent Authority has constituted the committee to inquire into the incident that happened on 29th March, 2023 in the Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi during the college cultural festival," the registrar said. The committee was also asked to suggest measures to curb such incidents in future. Members of the committee are Proctor Rajni Abbi, Dean of Students Welfare Pankaj Arora, Joint Proctor Geeta Sahare and Professor, Departm

Over 1,000 students benefited from DU's fee waiver scheme so far: Official

More than a thousand students from poor financial background studying at the Delhi University have received the benefit of the varsity's fee waiver scheme so far, an official said on Friday. Eighty per cent of them have received full waiver of their fees, the official told PTI, adding that the benefits amount to more than Rs 1 crore. The DU announced the fee-waiver scheme in November last year. The waiver includes all components of the fees paid by the students barring those for examination and hostel. Under the Financial Support Scheme (FSS) launched by the University of Delhi, so far more than 1,009 needy students have received benefits of about Rs 1 crore, DU's Dean of Students Welfare Pankaj Arora told PTI. The Dean of the Students Welfare Office collected the necessary data from the deserving candidates. Around 1,700 applications were received for the scheme for financially weak students, an official said on Friday. "After due verification, which includes the home visit of th

CUET should remain optional, says Association of Indian Universities

The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) on Wednesday said it prefers the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate programmes to remain an option for colleges and varsities of the country. Addressing a press conference here, AIU Secretary General Pankaj Mittal said CUET has not been made mandatory yet and AIU's stand is that it should remain voluntary for the universities or colleges willing to opt for the new system. "In our opinion, it is a good system. This was introduced to ease the problems of students, who will now appear only in one exam that is CUET. But I heard that the Government of India has recently said it is optional for a university," she said. Mittal acknowledged the opposition to the new system for studying degree courses in the Northeast despite a large number of institutions across the nation going for the CUET. Altogether 206 universities, including 44 central and 33 state varsities, have opted for the CUET so far, up from 90 ...

CUET: DU advises candidates to check syllabi of programmes before opting

Delhi University (DU) on Friday advised candidates to go through the syllabi of all programmes before choosing their preferences for admission through CUET UG 2023, after several existing varsity students admitted they did not know the language they opted for. In an advisory to candidates seeking admission in DU colleges, the varsity said that the last academic session, candidates opted for programmes with the sole purpose of taking admission to a certain college despite having no prior knowledge or proficiency required for pursuing the programme and area of study. The advisory comes on the back of several students in BA programmes admitting not knowing the language they have chosen. They have also written to the university several times for permission to change the subjects. "It has been observed by the University that at times candidates opt for Programs with the sole purpose of taking admission to a certain College despite having any prior knowledge or proficiency that is require

168 universities on-board for CUET-UG, application deadline to be extended

At least 168 universities have opted for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to undergraduate programmes so far, up from 90 universities last year, according to officials. The deadline for application, which is March 12, is also likely to be extended as more universities are expected to select the test for admissions. The 168 universities include 44 central universities and 31 state universities such as Barkatullah University, Bhopal, Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics, Karnataka, Cotton University, Guwahati, and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. "There are 27 deemed universities which will admit students based on CUET scores for their undergraduate programmes. Sixty-six private universities too are participating in the common entrance test this year which include Bennett University, Uttar Pradesh, NIIT University, Rajasthan, and UPES, Dehradun," a senior official said. The exam is scheduled to be conducted from May 21-31. The University Grant

Candidates recommended by Delhi govt await approval from DU: Somnath Bharti

Senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti on Tuesday alleged that Delhi University has not yet approved the nomination of candidates recommended by the city dispensation for governing bodies in government-funded colleges. No immediate reaction on the matter was available from the Delhi University administration. Bharti alleged that the varsity administration did not abide by the laws and the Delhi government's recommendation has been "ignored on purpose to enable saffronisation" of the campus. "The Delhi University administration has not approved the nominations of candidates our government recommended for forming governing bodies in 28 government-funded colleges. "Our recommendations were ignored on purpose to enable saffronisation of the university campus," he alleged. On February 21, then-deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia wrote to Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh over the delay in formation of governing bodies in 28 government-funded colleges. He had requested Singh to

Bus carrying DU students overturns in Himachal, one dead, 40 injured

A private bus carrying a group of Delhi University students on a trip to Manali overturned here on Friday, leaving a young woman dead and 40 others injured, officials said. There were 44 people in the bus, including 35 women students from Kamala Nehru College and six coordinators for the group, SDM Bilaspur, Abhishek Kumar Garg said. The accident took place on Chandigarh-Manali road. One student, hailing from Jaipur, was crushed to death while four others suffered fractures and rest minor injuries, the officials said. Passersby pulled out the injured from the bus and rushed them to the Bilaspur Regional Hospital. One passenger was referred to PGI Chandigarh and two to AIIMS Bilaspur. Police have registered a case of rash and negligent driving against the driver of the bus. The driver and the conductor fled the spot after the accident, Garg added.

DU teachers sit on hunger strike over delay in forming governing bodies

Several teachers of Delhi University sat on a 12-hour hunger strike over delay in forming governing bodies in 28 colleges funded by the Arvind Kejriwal government. The strike called by the AAP teachers wing -- Academics for Action & Development Delhi Teachers Association (AADTA) -- started at around 7 am at Arts Faculty. They also demanded the absorption of ad hoc and temporary teachers working in various Delhi University colleges. Several members of the Executive Council, Academic Council and Finance Committee of the varsity participated in the strike. Some former members and chairpersons of the governing bodies (GB) were also part of the demonstration, AADTA said in a statement. "The large scale participation shows the anger of teaching community over the way the university administration has politicised the GB formation in these colleges and the recruitment process in a narrow partisan manner," it said. Last month, the Delhi government had sent the list of its nominees for the

DU offers 2 seats each in UG, PG courses to orphans from next academic year

The Delhi University will offer two seats each under supernumerary quota to orphans in all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes from the next academic year, officials have said. Such students will also be exempted from payment of any kind of fees, they said. The proposal in this regard was passed during the varsity's Executive council meeting on Friday. "The Executive Council today passed the proposal regarding offering admission to orphans in every undergraduate and postgraduate programme offered at the university from the next academic year," an official said. "Such students, when admitted, will be exempted from payment of any kind of fees whatsoever which will include exemption from payment of their hostel fees, examination fees and other such mandatory fees as well," the agenda in the matter, accessed by PTI, read. The expenses for admission and continuance of study of such students shall be met from the University Welfare Fund or College Students' Welfare Fund, as the ca