B.Tech in Humanities gets overwhelming response: Delhi University

New Delhi: Delhi University said its much-talked about B Tech in Humanities course opened to "overwhelming" response from students, forcing it to extend the dates for submission of forms and admission.
 
The course, to be conducted by the university's Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC), will offer flexibility to students in chosing their subjects and will be taught under the 'meta college' concept.
 
The admission process started on July 25 and according to the University the response was "overwhelming" in the first week.
 
Given the loads of queries and interest shown by students, the University has decided to increase the ambit of the course to students currently enrolled in any programme of the University.
 
The last date for submission of forms is now August 17, the entrance test date has been rescheduled to August 26 from August 5.
 
Following a written test and an interview, students will be admitted to this four-year course which has 40 seats on offer.
 
The course is spread over eight semesters, and classes for the first and the last semester will be held at CIC.
 
In the intervening semesters, students can opt for courses in various colleges and can pursue a maximum of two semesters in one college. They will also be required to prepare innovation projects every semester. 

DU admissions: 1,000 seats for physically challenged unclaimed

New Delhi: As students rushed to submit forms for admission in Delhi University, the last day also saw a good number of physically challenged students turning out to register, taking the total number of aspirants in the reserved category to 501.
 
The total number of differently-abled students who registered for admissions during the 12-day window provided by the University was well above last year's 431.
 
As many as 52 registrations were done on the last day, and the varsity officials appeared satisfied by the response.
 
"Given the fact that we were taking around 40 admissions every day over the last few days, today was quite busy and the spurt in numbers was good," said Deputy Dean of Students Welfare Bipin Tiwari, at the end of the day.
 
The University reserves 3 per cent of its 54,000 seats 1,620 for physically handicapped students, but a major chunk of these seats go vacant each year and is later filled up by other categories.
 
Even after 501 admissions, over 1,000 seats are still unclaimed in the category, despite the University's efforts to make the admission process smoother for them.
 
This year, among the 500 students, 199 were visually impaired, 29 hearing impaired, and 247 with loco motor disability.
 
This year as many as 10 to 15 per cent of the candidates in this category have also opted for the Science stream.
 
The University in general saw a huge last day rush to submit application forms, and long queues could be seen at the submission centre even at the closing time.
 
"The centres were not closed until all students present had submitted their forms, and the time of submission was consequently extended beyond 1.00 PM," said an official.
 
Most students preferred the conventional way of submitting forms at the University, rather than the post offices which did not witness much rush. 

1.46 lakh applicants for 54,000 DU seats

New Delhi: Delhi University saw hectic activity on the last day of submission of admission forms as students rushed to make their bids, leaving a record total of over 1,46,000 applicants vying for 54,000 seats.

With 1,03,500 forms submitted over the counter, and 43,300 applications coming online, the University ended up surpassing all previous numbers, Dean Students Welfare J M Khurana said.

While the window for sale and submission of forms had opened up on June 4, the eleventh hour rush was very much visible.

Over 30,000 forms were submitted on the last day itself over the counter, while the last day online submissions were over 10,000.

With long queues of last minute applicants turning up at the counters, the submissions centres at the university campus had to remain open well beyond the 1.00 PM closing time.

"The last day usually sees a rush. We did not close down the centres till all the students present had submitted their forms," said an official.

However, the students were found to prefer the conventional way of submission at the varsity centres. While less than expected submissions were made online since the process began, the 12 post offices that were taking in applications also did not witness a similar rush.

The low turnout through the online process is also being attributed to the fact that the payment gateway did not function for the first few days.

The University also concluded the registration of the SC/ST students with as many as 23,650 turning up for registering for the reserved category.  

The reserved category of physically handicapped also saw 501 students registering themselves for admissions to the 1620 reserved seats.

With the forms being submitted, the focus now shifts to the much talked about cut off percentage rates, which have been giving a nervous time to students.

The first cut off list will be displayed by the colleges on June 26 followed by similar lists on June 29, July 3, July 6 and July 10. Further lists and conversions of OBC seats, if required, will be notified later, the University said.

The 100 per cent cut off percentage announced last year by SRCC had set off a major debate in the country, but  University officials have sought to assure students that there were plenty of seats and colleges in the varsity.

"We always tell students that they should not be obsessed by a few colleges. They should rather go for the subjects of their choice and the college that is locationally convenient for them. All colleges of the University have same syllabi and the teachers too are of comparable calibre," said an official.

New teaching course at DU

NEW DELHI: Those willing to pursue teaching as a career can now apply for Bachelor of Elementary Education (B El Ed) in Delhi University. 

Faculty of Education in DU will start issuing application forms for the course from May 22 to June 7. B El Ed is a four-year course offered at the undergraduate level. It is offered in eight DU colleges - Aditi Mahavidylaya, Jesus and Mary, Lady Shri Ram, Gargi, Institute of Home Economics, Shyama Prasad Mukherji, Miranda House and Mata Sundri. 

DU will hold a common entrance test for admission to this course. Meanwhile, forms for applying to Bachelor of Education (BEd) are already out. They will be available at the faculty till May 18. 

New attendance rule for students of DU

New Delhi: Delhi University has come up with new attendance rules for students in the second semester.

According to the new rule, students who have not secured 66.7% attendance will now have to drop a year before they can attend second semester classes again in January 2013.

The DU colleges are very much firm on taking stringent action against defaulting students, though they are still in the process of tabulating attendance for the entire semester, they have sounded out a warning for those students who fail to meet the minimum attendance criteria.

IS Bakshi, principal, Dyal Singh College said that if students have below the minimum requirement of 66.7% attendance, they will be detained. As a result, defaulting students will not be promoted to second year (third semester) and will end up repeating one more year, he said.

While 350 students in total had been detained from the University, Dyal Singh College detained nearly 190 students. SK Garg, Chairperson of DU's high powered committee said that the students who had cleared their first semester but are facing detention in the second semester will not lose their admission. On the other hand, students who are yet to clear their first semester and are being detained this semester, will lose their seat in the college.

Students are of the view that they did not have an idea of their attendance through the semester which is a factor that it would have been a bench-mark for their overall attendance. They said that the authorities have refused to show them their attendance saying that they would get to know every details by May.

Shivaji College, Delhi University celebrated its 51st Annual Day

New Delhi: Shivaji College, Delhi University celebrated its 51st Annual Day on 4th April 2012.  Dr. (Mrs.) Renu Batra, Joint Secretary, University Grants Commission was the Chief Guest of the Day.  The Programme was chaired by Prof. H.S. Prasad, Chairman, Governing Body, Shivaji College and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Delhi University. 

The Principal of the College Dr. Shashi Nijhawan presented the Annual Report which summarized the academic and ECA along with sports achievements of the students and the Teachers. In the field of sports  Komal Girdhar secured first position in Delhi University Inter-College Taekwando Championship.  Bogesh secured Gold Medal in Inter-College wrestling championship.  

Girl’s team secured silver medal in Inter-College Chess Competition. Other students also secured various positions in Inter College tournaments in different games. On the occasion the Chief Guest Dr. Renu Batra emphasized on inculcating strong human values amongst students.  

Education according to her is incomplete if a student does not imbibe characteristics like sincerity, discipline, punctuality and perseverance.  Talking about the role of teachers, she said that the teacher community is privileged as they engage with young minds, who in the near future could build the society and the nation. 

The Principal congratulated the Prize winners of all activities and wished them good luck for the forthcoming examinations. To make the college students aware of our cultural traditions a cultural shop was performed.  

This was a Kathakali dance featuring Dussasasana-Vadha from Mahabharatha which enthralled the audience. This helped the students to be introduced to multi-cultural ethos of India.

Delhi University first to test meta college idea

NEW DELHI: After designer clothes and homes, it is time for a design-your-course curriculum. From July this year, Delhi University is likely to introduce a "meta college'' that allows small batches of students to mix and match courses that interest them from options available in DU colleges as a pilot project.

This will mean students are not bound to either the courses available in one college or even a discipline. For instance, a student can pick a major from a college from the liberal arts stream and combine it with a pure science or commerce stream offered by another college. The student will eligible to a certain number of credits in a 4 year course. 

The concept of a "meta college" sounds similar to the term metadata, often defined as "data about data". To some extent the principle of managing and organizing seemingly disparate information to build linkages and synergies is also the thinking behind the meta college. 

The HRD ministry has been in talks with major universities including DU to implement the meta collegefrom the academic session beginning 2012. The courses will be taught through a combination of online teaching and actual class rooms with the student enrolled in a particular college. It will initially be offered only to limited number of students willing to experiment with their course curriculum. 

The concept aims to establish centres of inter-disciplinary research cutting across narrow academic boundaries and have been the preferred mode for promoting research. This will be introduced on an experimental basis in DU for now but could be replicated in Pune and Tamil Nadu. The need for such options have been highlighted by planners stressing the need to develop lateral thinking skills. 

The establishment of a `meta-university' that attempts to breach institutional boundaries by creating a university in virtual space linking institutions of higher learning in physical space into a collaborative unit is also underway. 

A senior HRD official said JNU, IIT Delhi, DU and Jamia Milia Islamia were working towards a collaborative effort for a one year post graduate diploma in public health. All four institutes are expected to leverage their strengths to create courses that explore various aspects of public health including hospital management, dissemination of information on improved nutrition, dietary habits and sanitation. 

The meta-university has been envisaged as a global network of learning where the broadband backbone links institutions of excellence in specific fields of knowledge would provide the communication infrastructure, while the open-access movement and allied initiatives will form the knowledge base and content. 

The meta university will reinterpret the concept of a University as not just a traditional, physical space of learning, but as a repository of knowledge and information that can be delivered in multiple ways, and can be accessed from anywhere and anytime. 

A third concept that is also in the works is a masters degree in math education that will be prepared in collaboration between DU and Jamia. The degree will be for one year. 

India to help Vietnamese teachers in English training

New Delhi: Vietnam will be sending teachers to India for English training, besides sourcing English teachers from India, according to the ministry of human resource development. The objective behind the entire exercise will be to prepare 20,000 English teachers in Vietnam over the next few years.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan Thursday presented the proposal to union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.

According to secretary (school education), the Central Board of School Education could provide the necessary training in India, through its Sahodaya School network.

English and Foreign Languages University (EFL-U) Hyderabad as well as Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have also agreed to cooperate with Vietnamese institutions.

EFL-U acting Vice Chancellor Amritavalli suggested that the university could prepare 300 master trainers over three years in two batches of 50 Vietnamese teachers every year. University could also send some experts to Vietnam.

India will also aid Vietnam in curriculum development. This cooperation would include the offering of Indian studies in Vietnam and Vietnam studies in India.

Sibal suggested formation of a Joint Working Group which will lay out the programme of cooperation between both the countries. 

DU puts its stamp on decision to scrap Ramanujans essay

New Delhi: Giving in to demands from various groups, the Delhi University has finally decided to delete essays written by eminent scholar A K Ramanujan on Ramayana from its History syllabus.
 
The decision to remove the essay titled 'Three Hundred Ramayanas' was taken at the Executive Council of the prestigious varsity which ratified the October, 2011 resolution of the Academic Council that sought the removal of the essay from the syllabus.
 
Of the 23 members in the EC, only one member opposed the decision to remove the essay.
 
Already, protests are brewing at the campus with the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) planning its next course of action against the varsity's move.
 
The inclusion of the 30-page essay, which offers a number of tellings of the epic story of Lord Rama, including the Jain, Buddhist and Kannada narratives, in BA (Hons) syllabus had not gone down well with some sections of the right wing which termed it "blasphemous".
 
There have been protests by ABVP and other group activists demanding removal of the essay from the University syllabus. 

Discussion on Ramayana in Delhi University

New Delhi: It has been six months since the removal of scholar A K Ramanujan's essay 'Three Hundred Ramayanas' incensed the teaching fraternity at Delhi University, but the rumblings have refused to die down.


A group of mostly Left-bent organisations of teachers and students is reviving their campaign against the withdrawal of the essay by organising a public talk on the issue.

The talk to be held on Wednesday will be attended by a number of scholars from within and outside the university.
Titled 'The Ramayana: Versions and Subversions', the talk will see the scholars discuss the numerous versions of the epic tale of Lord Rama, the controversy around the essay, and the "censoring" of education.

The 30-page essay, which offers a number of tellings of the epic story of Lord Rama, including the Jain, Buddhist and Kannada narratives, had not gone down well with sections of the right wing, some of whom called it "blasphemous".

The decision to remove the essay from the History syllabus was taken by the Academic Council in October last year amid much protest.

Groups of teachers and students had come together in a series of protests and debates against the decision last year.

"We see the removal of the essay as part of the policy of this fascist varsity administration that aims to suppress all dissenting voices and squeezing of space for democratic protest," said DUTA Executive Abha Dev Habib.

An online signature campaign was also launched against the decision and among the noted scholars who had signed the petition were Prof Bipin Chandra, Prof Romila Thapar and Prof Mridula Mukherjee.

"We would like to keep this alive as all the issues that we are facing in the University today regarding curtailing of democratic rights are interlinked... We also want our MPs to raise this issue in the parliament," Habib said.

DU students to switch sides to the admin in unique programme

New Delhi: Delhi University students will now have a unique opportunity to witness first-hand the daily intricacies of running the varsity administration through an interesting internship programme at none other than the Vice Chancellor's office.

The University has for the first time initiated a programme that invites students to be a part of the administration and even offer suggestions that may turn out to be valuable.
The students will not only get to understand the role of the Vice Chancellor's office in day-to-day functioning of their varsity but also get to assist his team in their affairs.
"People often complain about things that do not happen. Through this programme we wanted students to know more about how the University functions and get involved in the administration even if it is for a brief time," said Dean Students Welfare J M Khurana.

He said during their direct association with the Vice Chancellor's office, the students will be more than welcome to offer their suggestions to improve things.
"Since they are young and fresh minds, they might come up with valuable suggestions. They may understand our side of things and may help us understand the students perspective and what better they want from the University," Khurana said.

The programme will initially invite students who register for a day, and the duration of their association may be increased during the summer vacation.

During their internship with the VC's office, the students will interact with visitors, and assisting them. They will also be provided an opportunity to explore and understand the history of the VC office complex.