DU forms three-member panel to hold talks with Stephen's College over ongoing discord

NEW DELHI: Amid a tussle between the Delhi University and its affiliate St Stephen's College, Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has constituted a committee to hold talks with the college administration. A three-member panel of the Academic Council members will communicate with college principal John Varghese over alleged discard of the university rules by the college administration, said an official statement.

The Delhi University (DU) and St Stephen's have been at loggerheads for long over policy implementation disputes. Recently, the two were at the center of a controversy after the college denied to admit 12 students over its sanctioned seat limit under the DU's newly introduced single girl child quota.

Several students under the unreserved category were also refused admission disregarding the DU's extra allocations formula adopted for optimal filling of seats. After a legal battle, some of these students were admitted by the college following the Delhi High Court's order. In an Academic Council meeting held on Thursday, the vice-chancellor constituted a committee, which includes Professor Harendra Nath Tiwari, Alok Pandey and Maya John.

They will communicate with the college principal for resolution on the issue, the statement said. Besides, during the meeting DU's Institutional Development Plan (IDP) 2024 and Strategic Plan -- two key perspective plan documents of the university which charts out its short term and long term plans for future were approved and passed amid objections by a section of the professors.

However, the vice-chancellor has constituted a committee to review the IDP draft and asked to make revisions based on the raised objections after which it is slated to be tabled before the Executive Council members, the highest decision making body of the university, in their meeting on October 14, the statement said.

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A proposal on revisions made in a general elective paper titled 'Delhi Through Ages: Making of its Early Modern History' was also passed in the meeting. The revision includes replacing the text Purana Qila with ‘Indraprastha-Hastinapur’ and removal of a text by historian Irfan Habib from the suggested readings, according to the Academic Council members.

"These revisions in the paper are not based on academic merit," Academic Council member Maya John alleged in the dissent note submitted by her. "The Institutional Development Plan placed in the AC meeting was completely anti-teacher, anti-student and anti-education. Among other things, it advocated moving away from government funding and running the university in self-financing model. It advocated lateral entry into administration bypassing all UGC recruitment norms. It talks about imposing drone-based surveillance on students and staff of the University. We strongly dissented on the whole document," said Democratic Teachers Front member Mithuraaj Dhusiya. The Aam Aadmi Party's teachers wing, AADTA, also submitted dissent note on the IDP draft.