Delhi University (DU) Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh has said that some student organizations are trying to screen it. Controversial BBC Documentary The protests were aimed at creating “anarchy” at the university and insisted that indiscipline would not be tolerated on campus.
in an interview given to PTIMr Singh said DU was “open to collaboration” with foreign institutions and universities, while new courses are in the pipeline and upgradation of infrastructure is a top priority.
The motive behind the “(screening) was to create chaos and create indiscipline. They succeeded in doing that,” Mr Singh said.
“I will not allow such behavior in the campus, so a seven-member committee has been constituted to probe the matter,” he added.
Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India and Bhim Army Students’ Federation had last month said they would screen the controversial documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots. ‘India: The Modi Question’ at different times in the North Campus of Delhi University.
On January 27, on the day of the screening, police and university administration stopped the students from proceeding further, after which there was an uproar. Twenty-four students belonging to NSUI from DU’s Faculty of Arts were detained.
Following the incident, a seven-member committee headed by Chief Proctor Rajni Abbi was constituted to probe the lapses in security and suggest ways to strengthen security in the campus.
The vice-chancellor said the committee submitted its preliminary report on January 31 and is talking to the parents of the students involved as part of the detailed probe. “The investigation is going on and the result will be out very soon,” Mr Singh said.
The two-part documentary claimed that it examined certain aspects related to the 2002 Gujarat riots, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.
Talking about the upcoming session, Mr Singh said, like last year, the university will take admission through Common University Entrance Test (CUET) this year too, however, the process will be much easier as the university is well prepared. He also suggested that CUET should be conducted twice a year.
“Last time it happened for the first time and we faced some issues. The ideal situation would be to conduct CUET twice a year. The best performance should be considered and I hope the UGC will consider it,” Mr Singh said. .
According to the vice-chancellor, despite several initiatives to fill all 70,000 seats in the university, around 5,000 seats remained vacant last year. “It was not because of CUET but because there are some courses which are not so popular and they are few takers,” he said.
“Earlier also some seats used to remain vacant. In some colleges, seats used to remain vacant in certain categories. Even in minority institutions, seats remain vacant,” he said.
Last year, a tussle between St Stephen’s College and the DU administration had hit headlines when the college refused to accept the admission criteria framed by the university, citing being a minority institution.
The university then allowed the prestigious college to conduct interviews for admission to minority undergraduate students.
The admission process in the college started only after the Supreme Court order as it used to conduct admission for seats reserved for Christian candidates on the basis of interview.
Mr. Singh said that the matter has been resolved and from this year the college will take admission through CUET only. Mr Singh announced that admissions to all colleges of DU will be conducted through CUET only and no interview will be conducted.
After St Stephen’s College refused to accept the university’s admission criteria, Mr Singh listed priorities for the university in the coming years, saying: “We have to reform the university, revamp our infrastructure, And have to launch new projects, which include buildings and courses. We want to improve our international ranking. Several projects are in the pipeline. Two academic blocks and then some hostels.
The university is banking on a Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) loan that is expected to come through this year. When asked about expansion plans outside Delhi or abroad, the VC said that the administration has not thought of setting up campuses in other parts of the country.
“And outside India, we are open to collaboration. As of now, there are no plans for DU’s expansion outside India,” he said.
Describing the recent ban on non-vegetarian food at Hansraj College as a “trivial matter”, the vice-chancellor said that if the principal wanted to implement the values of Arya Samaj, then no one should have any problem with it.
“It is a trivial issue. Food habits depend on personal choice. But when we are in a college promoted by Arya Samaj and if the principal wants to implement the values of Arya Samaj, then we should support it,” Mr. Singh Said, he said that people should keep their ego aside.
Mr Singh reiterated that DU will continue to award honors degrees to students who opt for the three-year course, irrespective of UGC norms.
In December, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had stated in its draft norms that students would get an undergraduate honors degree only after completing a four-year course. DU, however, refused to accept the norms, saying it would continue to award honors degrees to students opting for the three-year course.