New Delhi, Aug 3 (INB) The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) criticised Delhi University’s reported move to introduce one-year postgraduate programmes in colleges, alleging that the proposal was initiated without discussion in the university’s statutory bodies, according to a statement. The DTF claimed in the statement that the university registrar had sent a WhatsApp message to college principals seeking willingness to start one-year PG programmes for the 2026-27 academic session, asking them to submit proposals specifying courses and student intake. The teachers’ body alleged that some colleges had already convened meetings following the communication and claimed that faculty members were informed that teaching the proposed programmes would be in addition to their existing workload, without the appointment of guest faculty. Calling the move “frivolous”, the DTF said it reflected a “cavalier attitude” towards students and questioned why such an important academic decision was not discussed in the Academic Council and Executive Council meetings held on July 24 and July 30. The university had recently increased seats in one-year PG programmes following demands from students but had not expanded infrastructure or teaching and non-teaching staff to accommodate the additional intake, the DTF statement said on Saturday. It claimed that university departments were already facing space constraints, particularly for laboratory-based teaching. The DTF further alleged that colleges were already under pressure due to the implementation of the fourth year of undergraduate programmes, expansion under the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota and increased workload under the 2023 workload norms and continuous assessment system. It also expressed concern that introducing one-year PG courses in colleges could undermine the academic structure of the university and alleged that the move was in line with provisions envisaged under the National Education Policy (NEP) for greater autonomy of colleges. The teachers’ body said it supported cooperative teaching arrangements between university departments and colleges but opposed what it described as “ill-designed” implementation of NEP-driven reforms. It also questioned the timing of admissions, noting that classes for the second year of two-year PG programmes had already begun while admissions to one-year PG programmes were yet to start as results of several fourth-year undergraduate courses were still awaited. The DTF urged the university administration to reconsider the proposal, arguing that the move could adversely affect academic quality and students’ interests.
