From this coming July, the first batch of students of the four-year undergraduate programme at the 91-year-old Delhi University will be sitting down for their first class. Or will they?
“For the first two years, the students will be made to go through the compulsory foundation course, which is all about learning with your hands, taking the class beyond the classroom and acquiring knowledge-based skills that are intended to equip you for a job immediately,” said DU Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh, adding that the courses will be more about “understanding the subject” rather than “learning it by heart.”
“For example Hindi Literature and Language will not be taught in the usual way. Instead, there will be a greater sense of participation like in-house radio programmes, designing a newspaper and critiquing a favourite poet,” he said, adding that similar practical features will be part of every course on offer.
Every subject will be 50 per cent practical and examinations will no longer be centralised. The practical aspect of the course will be graded by the college itself.
Prof. Singh is especially excited about the Mathematics and Information Technology course which he promises will not be like anything taught in the 10+2+3 format.
