Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has said that the attempt by some student organizations to screen the controversial BBC documentary was aimed at creating “anarchy” in the university and added that indiscipline will not be tolerated on the campus.
In an interview with PTI, Singh said DU was “open to collaborations” 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 managed to do that too,” said Singh.
“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 India And the Bhim Army Students’ Federation last month said they would screen the controversial documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, ‘India: The Modi Question’, at DU’s North Campus at different times.
On January 27, the day of the screening, the police and university administration stopped the students from proceeding, following which the ruckus started. 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.
Singh said, “The investigation is going on and the result will be out very soon.”
The two-part documentary claimed that it examined certain aspects related to the 2002 Gujarat riots when the Prime Minister was Narendra Modi He was the Chief Minister of the state.
Talking about the upcoming session, Singh said, like last year, the university will conduct 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 was the first time and we faced some issues. The ideal situation would be to conduct CUET twice a year. Best performance should be considered and I hope UGC will consider it.
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.
He said that it was not because of CUET but because there are some courses which are not so popular and they are few takers.
“Earlier also, some seats used to remain vacant. In some colleges, seats remained vacant in some categories. Seats remain vacant even in minority institutions.
Last year, a tussle between St Stephen’s College and the DU administration made headlines when the college refused to accept the admission criteria framed by the university, saying it was 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.
Singh said the matter has been resolved and from this year the college will take admission through CUET only.
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, Singh also listed the priorities for the university in the coming years, saying, “We have to reform the university, revamp our infrastructure, and to launch new projects including buildings and courses. We want to improve our international ranking. Many projects are in the pipeline. Two academic blocks and then some hostels. University is banking on a high Education Financing Agency (HEFA) loans that are 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 collaborations. As of now, there are no plans to expand DU outside India,” he said.
Terming the recent ban on non-vegetarian food in 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 objection to 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 Arya Samaj values, then we should support it,” Singh said. Said, people should keep their ego aside.
Singh reiterated that despite UGC norms, DU will continue to award honors degrees to students who opt for the three-year course.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in its draft norms in December had stated 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.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)