DU AC okays SOL proposal to launch new language courses; VC urges permanent faculty hiring

NEW DELHI : Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh on Saturday urged all affiliated college principals to prioritise permanent faculty appointments over hiring guest faculty, according to an official statement issued by the university. The remarks were made during the 1022nd meeting of the Academic Council (AC), the university's top academic decision-making body.

The Academic Council also approved several new courses, including a proposal by the School of Open Learning (SOL) to offer certificate, diploma and advanced diploma programmes in Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages from the 2025-26 academic session. Additionally, a one-year Advanced Diploma (JP-3) in Japanese will be introduced at Ramjas College. The Department of Distance and Continuing Education was also given the nod to start certificate courses in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese from the 2024-25 session at the Open Learning Development Center, CISBC.

Among other academic decisions, the council approved new syllabi across faculties under the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022. New Skill Enhancement Courses (SECs) were cleared, including Robotics and Automation and Introduction to IoT using Arduino in the Electronics domain, Low-Code/No-Code Development in Computer Science and new Biomedical Science courses such as Forensic Analysis of Biological Evidence, Forensic Toxicology, Questioned Document Examination, and Injury and Death.

The council also approved the translation of Persian, Arabic and Urdu texts in the syllabus into English for better accessibility. During the Zero Hour of the meeting, the vice chancellor stressed the need for timely recruitment. "Colleges should give priority to filling permanent posts instead of relying on guest faculty. They should advertise vacancies and complete appointment processes at least once or twice a year," he said.

The vice chancellor also asked principals to initiate action on posts that are currently vacant or are expected to fall vacant due to retirement. Responding to a question on faculty recruitment in 12 Delhi government-funded colleges, he said that discussions were ongoing with the Delhi government and that a positive outcome was expected soon. Registrar Dr Vikas Gupta placed the minutes of the 1021st AC meeting held on December 27 before the council for confirmation and presented an action report on previous decisions. The proposals approved by the Academic Council will now be sent to the Executive Council for final clearance. The Executive Council is scheduled to meet on May 23.