Latest news with #Four-YearUndergraduateProgramme
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
DU nod to course revisions, updates psychology syllabus
New Delhi: The executive council (EC) of Delhi University (DU)—its highest decision-making body—on Friday approved the syllabi for various undergraduate programmes for the fourth year under the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). The syllabus for BA Psychology has also been revised, with topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, Kashmir crisis, and suicides related to dating apps removed. The council has approved the launch of a new BSc (Nuclear Medicine Technology) course at Army Hospital, Delhi Cantt, under the Faculty of Medical Sciences. The three-year course, with an optional one-year internship, is meant for Armed Forces Medical Services personnel and will be conducted by the Department of Radiology. For admission to this course, the candidate should be serving in the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and should have completed 6 years of service. Candidates should have passed the Higher Secondary Examination (Academic) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), or any other recognised equivalent State Board examination with a minimum of 50% marks (in aggregate) in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Botany and Zoology subjects, with English as one of the subjects. In case seats remain vacant due to insufficient candidates from the Army failing to fulfil the above criteria, appointments will be offered to medical assistants of the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy based on equivalent criteria in the respective medical services. Additionally, committees have been formed to launch new postgraduate programmes in Hindi and English Journalism. The MA Journalism course will now be offered by both the Hindi and English departments. An expert committee, led by Prakash Singh, director, south campus, has been tasked with launching the PG Hindi Journalism course. Approval has also been granted to form a committee for a PG programme in English Journalism. The EC passed a proposal expressing full support for "Operation Sindoor". It also approved the revised curricula and examination schemes under the Undergraduate Course Framework-2022 and Postgraduate Course Framework-2024, as recommended by the Academic Council on May 10. Furthermore, the EC passed new rules for determining the seniority of assistant professors/lecturers in DU colleges. If qualifications are equal, seniority will be decided based on age. If age is also the same, the API score will be considered. These rules follow the recommendations of a committee headed by dean of colleges Balram Pani, addressing concerns and ambiguity among colleges regarding teacher seniority. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Come July, DU's undergrad students will enter their 4th year. Here's what they can expect
For the first time since the Delhi University (DU) adopted the National Education Policy (NEP), undergraduate students will formally step into a fourth academic year in July. The Academic Council last week approved the curriculum for the seventh and eighth semesters, effectively setting the stage for the complete implementation of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior DU official said, 'With courses for the fourth year being cleared by the Academic Council on May 10, these will now be presented before the Executive Council on May 23. The university will tentatively begin the fourth year for students in July… Every student currently studying at DU has been enrolled under a four-year programme.' The new curriculum offers students the option to choose between three specialisation tracks in their final year – Dissertation Writing, Academic Projects, and Entrepreneurship. The first track is designed for those pursuing academic research, the second focuses on applied research, while the third allows students to develop entrepreneurial ideas through market research, business planning, and financial modelling. Each of these components carries 12 credits, distributed across the two final semesters. To accommodate the expanded academic load, DU plans to implement the University Grants Commission's '8 to 8' policy for class timings, under which classes can be scheduled between 8 am and 8 pm to maximise infrastructure use. 'Colleges like Hansraj, Kirori Mal, Hindu, and others are coming up with new structures and preparing to accommodate more students. Since the fourth year is research-oriented, we have a majority of faculty who have completed their PhDs, and we believe more teachers will be encouraged to pursue PhDs as it comes with an incentive,' the official said. A principal from a prominent North Campus college maintained that students will be at a crossroads. 'From a student's perspective, there are now two choices – either exit after the third year and prepare for CUET-PG or CAT, or continue with the fourth year. Even after opting for the fourth year, students can choose to exit midway. Colleges need to be prepared to offer both space and resources to support these choices.' The principal emphasised that while this is DU's first transition into a four-year system, it need not be overwhelming. 'The student can either continue with the programme, appear for a competitive exam, or pursue avenues like public service, NCC, or Defence. Colleges should support each of these pathways,' the principal said. Under the new structure, the total credits required for the FYUP will be 176, of which 164 are for direct teaching and 12 for research-related work. This is an increase from the credits mandated under the earlier Choice-Based Credit System. The additional 12 credits mark the formal introduction of a research component at the undergraduate level, which is central to NEP. The principal further said that while classroom infrastructure may not be a major problem, laboratory availability will be a concern. 'Research work will require more labs, especially for undergraduate students. Classes will also need to be scheduled carefully to ensure optimal use of existing infrastructure.' On whether this will lead to more pressure on faculty, the principal said, 'We will need to hire more non-teaching staff to keep labs running all six days. Research credits don't come under direct teaching, so they won't drastically increase faculty load on paper, but they will reduce timetable flexibility.' However, faculty members raised concerns about the feasibility and academic rigour of the new structure. Maya John, an elected Academic Council member and faculty at Jesus and Mary College, said, 'A majority of DU colleges lack the resources required to support the fourth year. There aren't enough laboratories, classrooms, computer systems, access to original software, no additional funds, and scholarships, among others, to support undergraduate research and academic projects. This, too, will compromise the quality of learning and research output at the undergraduate level. Further, students will face an immense load, as alongside studying and clearing the semester exams for core and elective papers, they will be pursuing research or entrepreneurship in both the seventh and eighth semesters. Managing this would be a difficult task.' She also flagged an increase in workload for teachers. 'College teachers will be bearing an extra workload of teaching fourth-year papers while also supervising dissertations and academic projects. Given this overburdening of teachers as well as the large number of students in most undergraduate courses whose dissertations, academic projects, and entrepreneurships will need supervision, the quality of undergraduate research will tendentially suffer.' On the ground, colleges are still trying to catch up with the infrastructural demands of a fourth year. 'There aren't enough labs, no adequate machinery, and no additional funding to support research or academic projects. This will impact the quality of research… Many of the courses passed in the seventh and eighth semesters have been significantly diluted. Moreover, considering the mere four credits and correspondingly fewer teaching hours assigned to crucial papers like Core Courses and Discipline-Specific Electives, the quality of the dissertations and academic projects that the students would be working on in the fourth year will be adversely affected.'
The Hindu
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Universities set to facilitate major changes, college and inter-university transfers under FYUGP
Kerala's universities are set to implement a series of major reforms under the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) starting from the upcoming academic year. The changes, aimed at enhancing flexibility and student mobility, were approved during a high-level meeting chaired by Higher Education Minister R. Bindu at Kerala University on Tuesday. Attended by Vice-Chancellors, Registrars and senior education officials, the meeting also approved a unified academic calendar for implementation across universities. Among the key reforms is the introduction of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for students to change their Major subjects and seek transfers before the third semester. Colleges will now be required to publish vacancy details, including up to 10% additional seats, if needed within the statutory limit, to accommodate such changes. Only subjects previously taken as a Minor or multidisciplinary course (MDC) in the first or second semester will be eligible for a programme change. A rank list, based on the weighted average of grade points earned in the relevant subject, will determine eligibility. Reservation norms will apply to any newly created seats. To facilitate college transfers, universities will publish details of available seats and invite applications. The transfers will be finalised on the basis of rank lists. Students must submit a certificate from their current college principal, confirming they have not been involved in ragging or misconduct. The SOP will also apply to autonomous colleges. Students from such institutions will be allowed to transfer to non-autonomous colleges as well. Inter-university transfers will be permitted for students who have successfully completed all courses in the first two semesters. Applications within Kerala will be reviewed and ranked before being forwarded to the respective colleges. Requests from students enrolled in universities outside the State will be examined by the relevant Board of Studies, or by the department council in cases involving university teaching departments. All applicants must submit a conduct certificate from their current institution. According to Dr. Bindu, a faculty upskilling drive will be rolled out for all faculty. Master trainers will be appointed to conduct subject-wise workshops in all universities to ensure effective delivery of the new curriculum. Universities have been directed to collect feedback from students and faculty on the current syllabus to enable course modifications. The Minister added that the Kerala State Higher Education Council will launch an internship portal in collaboration with Keltron. The initiative is aimed at providing up to 1 lakh internship opportunities, including free, paid and stipend-supported internships.
