The Hindu : New Delhi News : Tug of war over shifting of DU department

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Thursday, Jun 07, 2007
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New Delhi

Tug of war over shifting of DU department

A student of Delhi University's Department of Slavonic and Finno-Ugrain Studies has approached the Chief Justice of India, Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, who is also Pro-Chancellor of the University, for staying the proposed shifting of the Department from South Campus to North Campus.

The University had last year decided to shift the Department to the North Campus as it was housed in an "unsafe and dilapidated" building.

"I have approached the Chief Justice to request him to intervene in this matter in his capacity as the Pro-Chancellor. The University has taken the decision to move the Department from South Campus to North Campus which will cause great inconvenience to the students," said Harpal Sangwan, an M.A. final year student of Russian at the Department.

Last month, some students of M.A. (Russian), Ph.D. (Russian), M. Phil (Russian) and Full-time Diploma (Bulgarian) wrote a letter to Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental requesting him to keep the Department on the South Campus in the "larger public interest".

They said that the move to shift the Department would be against their admission contract as they were admitted to the South Campus.

"We request you not to deny the students of the South Campus the opportunity to pursue higher studies in the area of foreign language," said the letter.

Meanwhile, the faculty seems divided on the issue. While some like the Staff Council secretary Neelakshi Suryanarayan are against the Department being shifted and claim that the administration did not take their views into consideration, a few others believe that the move is a step in the right direction.

"All languages are being taught on the North Campus. Shifting the Department will help in amalgamation of the languages. We do not have space available on the South Campus. North Campus is the main campus and from all points of view, it will suit the students more. Some teachers are complaining only because they stay near the South Campus and it will be inconvenient for them to travel so much," said a faculty member.

Though some elected members protested against the decision at the recently held Academic Council meeting, the administration insists the move will benefit the students.

"All language departments are already on the North Campus. Shifting the Department will strengthen it further. The building that houses the Department now is not safe and requires repairs. Who will take the responsibility if the building collapses one day and students are hurt?'' asks Registrar A. K. Dubey.

Studying in Ramjas College will be an altogether different experience from this academic year. All the classrooms will be equipped with magnetic boards where one half will have a screen and the other will be used to write notes.

The idea is to complement and supplement classroom teaching with audio-visual aids and facilities.

Not just this, the "excited" faculty members too are buying Internet-enabled laptops to assist them in teaching.

"When the teachers are lecturing on any topic, be it social science or English literature, they should be able to project on the screen different photos and other material related to the subject. There is a lot of material, including articles and other research papers available on the Internet that can be made available to students in the classroom," said Principal Rajender Prasad.

"This kind of teaching will empower Ramjas students and give them an edge over others," he added.

Thousands of students from across the country have been thronging Delhi University to buy the pre-admission forms. To help them as they hop from one college to another, Radio Mirchi 98.3 F. M. has introduced a "Mirchi U-Special" this year.

Two special air-conditioned Volvo buses have been launched by the radio station to help students seeking admissions to North Campus and South campus. These "Mirchi U-Specials" will ferry students from one college to another from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. till Saturday.

Students on board the buses will not only get a stress-free ride as they go to different colleges, they will also be served cold drinks like "nimbu pani" to help them beat the heat.

-- Parul Sharma

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