New Delhi: Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday summoned Pro Vice Chancellor of the Delhi University to hold talks about the future. The move came after Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh stepped down following a row with the University Grants Commission over the Four Year Undergraduate Program (FYUP). Singh had been adamant on not scrapping the four-year course.
HRD Ministry sources said that the process of selecting the new Vice Chancellor will begin soon. Sources added that the record of Dinesh Singh in managing finances of the university can be scrutinised too despite the Delhi University being an autonomous body.
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Sources in the ministry said that the Vice Chancellor resignation is likely to be accepted and will be forwarded through proper channel once received.
Sources said Dinesh Singh didn't follow the due procedure in implementing the FYUP program. Sources added that the Vice Chancellor did not amend rules before initiating the four-year course and in the eyes of the HRD Ministry, the FYUP scheme was illegal.
ALSO SEE Students caught in DU-UGC crossfire over 4-year course, admissions delayed
Meanwhile, Pro Vice Chancellor is meeting higher education secretary.
The DU Teachers Association welcomed Singh's resignation saying this will make way for the university to go back to the three-year undergraduate course. "He had no choice. Action should be taken against him. He cannot get away with resigning. We have to look at the policy in which Dinesh Singh was working. Hope the situation at DU will be normal," DUTA President Nandita Narain said.
ALSO SEE Four-year course mess angers students seeking admission in Delhi University
The four-year course mess even reached the court on Tuesday as former DUTA President Aditya Narayan Mishra approached the Supreme Court against the UGC order on scrapping the FYUP. The court refused to take up the case and directed the Delhi High Court to take up the matter. It is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday.
Reacting to Singh's resignation, Mishra said, "This is very unfortunate. Someone who has been defending the autonomy of DU has to go. Our fight will continue."
The All India Students Union members and other students bodies who were protesting against the four-year course broke into celebrations as soon as they got the news of Singh's resignation. They carried out victory marches and victory dances at the North Campus.
The Congress pointed fingers at the Narendra Modi government calling the VC's resignation unfortunate. "It is most unfortunate that the DU VC has resigned. The manner in which the NDA government has handled the situation is bad. They have trampled upon the autonomy of an autonomous body, it shows the amount of disrespect the NDA has for institutions. If this is the case they were talking about good days, people have to decide," Congress leader Manish Tewari said.
The DU teachers who are in favour of the FYUP also held a hunger strike on Tuesday. They alleged political interference in the issue and say that the Human Resource Development Ministry and the University Grants Commission are responsible for the mess.
"It is all a conspiracy. They want students to leave for private universities, 4500 teaching posts are still vacant, the hiring processes is still on. We are protesting against it. Surendra Kumar was attacked yesterday during a TV show by ABVP and NSUI goons, no one has been arrested yet," Mishra said.
"The HRD and UGC are responsible for everything, who are they who want to run the university? The university does not run from political party offices. We are sitting on a hunger strike," he added.
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