Politics behind FYUP row
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: June 24, 2014 -

“What is the point of having an extra year in the college curriculum when students in rest of the country will be graduating after only three years?”

This was the question many people had raised when Delhi University announced its decision to introduce four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) under which students who wanted an honours degrees had tom complete four years in colleges.

The drawbacks of FYUP, which is actually a copied graduation model followed in the American Universities, in Indian Universities or colleges are so pronounced that there are still very few willing takers even today.

But the authority of Delhi University went ahead and introduced the programme in the colleges affiliated under it since last year despite strong oppositions from various quarters.

At that time, University Grant Commission (UGC) did not say anything.

Rather, it preferred to remain silent and aloof, not to speak of the advising the authorities of Delhi University against introduction of FYUP with or without approval of the President of India, who is the visitor of the varsity, or the mandatory clearance from it.

However, after FYUP is in place in colleges under Delhi University for one whole academic year, UGC suddenly sees red and has directed the authority of Delhi University not only to roll back the programme but also gave a strongly-worded ultimatum for sending a report of compliance on its directive.

Why is UGC acting in such a manner now? This is a question even those who were opposed to introduction of FYUP are asking today.

Just as in the cases of newly installed BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre trying to wipe out every legacy of the previous Congress-led UPA Government, starting off with doing away with various committees known under the name of Group of Ministers (GoMs) and Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoMs) and now nudging the Governors of various States appointed by the previous regime, the current stand off between UGC and DU over FYUP has also shown how the ‘dirty’ politics in India could create havoc without even sparing the lives and careers of the innocent students.

Everyone knows BJP had promised to scrap FYUP if it comes to power during the election campaigns.

Now that BJP is in power and in order to fulfill its election promise, the BJP-led NDA Government has conveniently used UGC, which funds DU and recognizes its degrees awarded to students, to pit against DU this time over a decision, though controversial, taken during the UPA rule in the name of resolving the matter in its own way.

This has been more than evidently clear from the ‘proclaimed stand’ of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development not intervene in the stand off between UGC and Delhi over over the question of scrapping the contentious FYUP, while giving out enough clear cut message so loudly that the decision taken by the Vice Chancellor of Delhi University to introduce FYUP was illegal, students who took admission under it last year should take DU to court id DU does not resolve the issue with the UGC, without wasting any further time.

What kind of non-interference is that? Perhaps, non-interference of a political kind which the victimized students would never be able to understand or find in their textbooks.