Making it clear that the Centre will not come in the way of Delhi University introducing the four-year under-graduate course, the Government on Thursday said it would look into the concerns expressed by some sections but the momentum generated towards its implementation should not be derailed.
Any decision on deferring the programme by a year will be left to Delhi University, as it is an autonomous institution, the Government clarified.
“We should not be seen as dictating them or question their wisdom. If they feel comfortable to go ahead, we don’t want to come in the way,” Human Resource Development Minister M M Pallam Raju told reporters here.
His statements came a day after the Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor spoke on similar lines at the Google Hangout programme.
Raju said the concerns expressed by dissenting groups had been discussed at length with the Delhi varsity Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh.
The V-C has assured him that “things are going in the right direction”, he said to persistent queries if his Ministry planned to intervene on the issue.
Raju said there would always be resistance to changes in the country and that students need not be “alarmed”. “We definitely don’t want to derail the enthusiasm and momentum generated and certainly do not want to impinge on the academic authority and independence of the executive council of the university...About the concerns expressed, we are giving it deep thought and scrutiny and ensure it is addressed,” he said.
He, however, noted that the concerns were limited to the speed with which the programme was being implemented and the omissions of some key elements of the course but not for the new scheme per se.
The new programme, from July this year, will entail awarding a diploma if a student exits after two years, a bachelor’s degree after three years and a bachelor’s degree with honours or a B Tech degree on completion of four years.