While the discontent against the chaos surrounding the four-year undergraduate programme has been simmering, students of DU's School of Open Learning (SOL) have also been vociferously protesting outside the Arts Faculty on the North Campus. Students claim that the fate of over 4,50,000 of them currently enrolled in SOL also hangs in the balance due to the FYUP mess.
Students claim that SOL system is plagued filled with loopholes as there is wide-ranging disparity between the students studying in regular colleges and those enrolled in SOL. The primary standpoint is the legitimacy of the three-year system offered to students under SOL and the four-year undergraduate programme in regular colleges. With only 30 centres for 4,50,000 students and 20 classes scheduled for an academic year, students are facing challenges of ‘quality going down the drain’ in the present scenario.
Students are also troubled by the late announcement of results, especially in the third year which scuttles their chances of applying for a Masters programme.
Members of the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), a student organisation from the SOL, have also been protesting. Muhammed Shahnawaz, the group’s president said the only measure proposed for the current academic session by the university was the provision of laptops to students which is available to those enrolled in regular colleges under FYUP. Sudharshna, a second year SOL student, remarked that classes are held in haste with over 200 students in a single class. “During exam time, some students get their ID cards a week before exams and others have to bring their voter ID cards for validity on the day of the exam. Moreover, we can’t access the library as cards issued to us are kept with the administration”, she said. While the ambiguity continues, the offline admission process for SOL has commenced with the admission forms being distributed at the designated branches of IDBI in place of SBI. The last date of receipt of applications for admission without late fee is August 21.
(With inputs from Lakshi Bhatia)
