Delhi University Academic Council to meet on Feb 9 to discuss NEP-based undergraduate curriculum framework

The DU uploaded the draft on its website on January 21 and invited suggestions from stakeholders till January 30. However, a 50-word limit was given for the same.

The UGCF is an attempt to include two of the most talked-about features of the National Education Policy (NEP) – multi-disciplinarity and multiple exit points (leaving the course at the end of each year with a different degree).

The UGCF draft 2022 has a total of 176 credits on offer. The number of credits is determined by the study load. To clear a semester, students need a certain number of credits which are determined by the importance of the course and the teaching-learning hours that are put into it. As per the new framework, to get a four-year UG degree with a major in a specific discipline, students need to get a minimum of 50 per cent of credits (88) in that discipline.

It is the fourth such draft put forward by DU. Earlier drafts varied greatly on the total credit points that were to be offered. The original draft which was presented in and approved by the Academic Council (AC) and Executive Council (EC) last year had a total of 196 credits.

The move has been met with criticism by teachers’ bodies who pointed out that the reduction of credits from 196 to 176 would mean a reduction in teaching hours, which would affect workload and since ad hoc and guest teacher appointments are done based on workload, it could lead to job loss for these sections. They also argued that it could lead to “dilution” of courses as less teaching time would be spent on it.