DUTA writes to Murmu, calls for review of UG curriculum framework

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) on Monday submitted a petition to President Droupadi Murmu, calling for the withdrawal of the draft University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines on faculty appointments and seeking a “comprehensive review of the UGCF (Undergraduate Curriculum Framework) model with full stakeholder consultation”.

The UGCF is the structure aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, under which Delhi University has implemented the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), whose first batch will enter its final year in July. Several students from the batch have already dropped out citing a lack of infrastructure and unclear prospects.

‘Flawed implementation of FYUP’

DUTA remarked upon the “flawed implementation” of the FYUP and said that it is being implemented without a “comprehensive assessment of its feasibility or impact.”

The teachers’ body chief, A.K. Bhagi of the RSS-affiliated National Democratic Teachers’ Front, said the reduced credit for core subjects under UGCF has led to a “dilution of academic depth”. He added that faculty members are being “increasingly overburdened” due to growing teaching and administrative responsibilities, with no corresponding recruitment or infrastructural expansion in sight.

DUTA “rejected” the draft regulations, saying, “Since the UGC Pay Review Committee has not been set up, there’s no need for the draft regulations at the moment.” Nearly 2,000 faculty members have endorsed the petition.

The draft UGC regulations, announced by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in January, aim to transform the process of recruiting and promoting faculty members across higher education institutions.