Last week, I
got to know that at least three of my cousins had struggled through the high
cut offs of colleges under the Delhi University and successfully made it to the
first list of three famous colleges under the university. And then it occurred to
me that they would be the first batch of the Four-Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP)
that the university has instituted this year onwards. My cousins were super-
excited. Frankly, I had mixed reactions to this proposed reform.
The Delhi
University, the most esteemed institution of higher education in India, has
been open to radical reforms like the four years Bachelor of Elementary
Education (BElEd), adopted 20 years ago. The FYUP, being another such radical
transformation has raised many eyebrows and invited considerable speculation.
It is true that the Indian education system is in dire need of reforms and the
FYUP came as a bolt from the blue for students and academicians. With both its
positives and negatives being abundantly weighed, this programme is by far one
of the major reforms that any Indian university has incorporated. On one hand,
students would have loads to take away from the detailed curriculum that has
been drawn up. On the other, however, they might find much of what they are
studying to be of a higher difficulty level than other universities. A major
question in point would be the meticulous design of the syllabi of such a
programme and the unique aspects of the courses which it would bring to the
table. With 600 disciplinary, interdisciplinary and applied courses falling
under the university’s jurisdiction, the curriculum would take at least one
year to be implemented.
As a student
studying under the University of Mumbai which does not have any opportunity of
a FYUP as of now, I went two years back in time to that phase of my life when I
had been struggling for admissions. My parents did not have to fear sudden
changes in course structures back then as everything had been uniform across
universities. They were not afraid of another student at some other university
studying the same course as me learning more than me at the undergraduate level
and getting better opportunities for research. The strong autonomy of DU has become
a cause of apprehension for many students this year because they feel
discriminated.
It isn’t really an alien concept, since many
foreign universities do follow this FYUP system; nevertheless this brand new
concept has not been welcomed by most people. This reform is indeed an
exception in the history of the university. It has created anguish across groups
of teachers who have claimed that the syllabus is too random and they are not
prepared to teach students in congruence with the contents of the new syllabus. Another question that I had been wondering about was if the FYUP has been
implemented keeping in mind all kinds of students- the above average, the
mediocre and the not-so- academically inclined one. What kind of students is
this program being aimed at? I don’t know much about the syllabus it entails
and hence I do have my own reservations about the necessity of such a programme
at the undergraduate level. I feel that in a bid to delve deeper into various
subjects of study, the course would toughen things up for the 0.5 million
students who study under this university.
The FYUP
would however, be a pleasant surprise and a huge gain in the long run for those
who wish to pursue higher education abroad. Students under this program can
complete a two year diploma, a three year general bachelors or a four year honors’
degree. They would become comfortable in a professional framework where
covering heavy topics and exploring various avenues of every subject would be
their path to success. Needless to say, the amount of knowledge gained would
automatically increase and in the long run, that would help them in the pursuit
of the social sciences, physical sciences and medicine. The program would require much higher
qualified professional teachers and the campus placement percentage would
determine its actual success value.
The
financial aspect also has to be looked into with a lot of concern. Students
coming from modest backgrounds and with sky high ambitions will obviously want an
honors degree but might not be able to pay for the entire program. This
phenomenon thus shuts the options that were previously open to them and they
may thus veer towards other universities. The Delhi University chancellor and
other authorities should thus aim at working towards a stronger and more theoretical
curriculum at the post graduate level as this would really upgrade its stakes
on the national and international front.
The
program has to thus combine general and professional aspects of education to
make it more holistic for its students. Most importantly, it has to ensure a
healthy level of competition with other universities and guarantee employment
across all streams. It has to keep
affordability at the forefront in its annual agenda and invite leading
academicians to design the curriculum. It needs to be student friendly and less
elitist on paper and also in action. Right now though, it looks a little bleak
on the success meter, what with the majority rejecting it in the form of
student unrests in various parts of India.
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