UGC urges central universities to teach courses based on student demand

UGC asks central universities to teach courses on the basis of students' demands and numbers. Read further to know more. 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has urged the central Universities across the country to teach courses on the basis of the student's demand and numbers, to raise the specter of gradual elimination of some language and social science programmes at many institutions. 

While speaking on the same, Chandra Mohan Negi, Delhi University Academic Council Member said that going by this directive, all the courses in humanities and the social sciences will gradually be closed down at public universities. Only professional courses will be taught against high fees.

The Higher Education regulator, UGC, had earlier asked all the central universities to rationalize their existing courses while keeping in mind the demand of students. The letter, which cites a nudge from the education ministry, comes at a time public-funded institutions have on their own begun winding up many traditional courses, mainly in the arts and social sciences.

Imteyaz Ahmed, an Urdu teacher with DU, said five colleges affiliated to the university — Khalsa College, Lady Shri Ram College, Miranda House College, Hindu College and Ambedkar College — had closed their Urdu departments in recent years. Since public-funded universities often represent the sole hope of quality higher education for students from the deprived segments, any closure of their programmes would hurt the poor the most.

Ahmed said that in the run-up to closing their Urdu departments, some the five colleges will advertise all their courses in their admission prospectus but not Urdu. If the students did not know, they could not apply. It was deliberate neglect.

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