DU teachers flag delay in 400-mark assessment for 4th-year UG students as 7th semester nears end

The Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF) at Delhi University has asked the administration to release revised evaluation guidelines for fourth-year undergraduate programmes with a research project in the seventh and eighth semesters. In a letter dated November 6, addressed to Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh, the DTF said students and teachers are still waiting for clarity on the assessment process, even as the seventh semester is nearing completion.

The demand came after the earlier notification issued on July 10, when Delhi University increased the credits for the Dissertation, Academic Project or Entrepreneurship track from six to 10 per semester for the fourth year under its Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022 starting from the 2026-27 academic year.

Under the revised structure, the four credits earlier assigned to Discipline Specific Core (DSC) courses in the seventh and eighth semesters were shifted to the research and entrepreneurship track. Students are required to select three elective courses in each semester from Discipline Specific Elective (DSE) and Generic Elective (GE) options.

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DU UG research assessment scheme awaits revision

The DTF said the university had not yet issued the corresponding evaluation scheme for the revised 10-credit structure, which carries 400 marks per semester. It pointed out that the earlier evaluation notifications for the seventh and eighth semesters were based on the previous six-credit structure and 240 marks.

The notice reads, “You would agree that prior information on the evaluation scheme is extremely important for students and teachers, as it creates an overview. Such delays reflect the scant attention of the University towards teaching-learning, which is causing the University and its programmes to lose popularity. We request the University to issue updated guidelines for the VIIth and VIIIth semester evaluation of UG Research on urgent basis”

The DTF has also raised concerns over academic requirements for fourth-year students, particularly involving Scopus-indexed research papers, books, book chapters, patents and presentations at national or international conferences. It has also requested that feedback from students and teachers be considered while framing the revised rules.

It said an increase in credits should not result in unrealistic research targets, as producing quality academic work requires sufficient time and sustained engagement. The organisation has previously raised concerns about the fourth-year undergraduate programme in meetings of the university's academic and executive council.