The absence of any elected teacher representative on the panel of the newly constituted 10-member committee, for taking admission related decisions in the Delhi University (DU), has raised concerns within the members of varsity's highest decision making bodies -- Academic Council (AC) and Executive Council (EC).
According to the AC and EC members, the committee, which consists of college principals and varsity officials, will "overlook" the larger interest of students while taking admission related decisions. "In the absence of any teacher representative, who is directly connected with the students and familiar with their issues, how can the committee be able to take decisions in the interest of students?" asked Hansraj Suman, an AC member and professor at Sri Aurobindo College.
DU had earlier formed a 47-member admission committee, that was later renamed as "admission advisory committee", that can work only within the advisory capacity. Now, this 10-member committee will take all the decisions. "This is the first time when no elected teacher representative is on the board. The administration is trying to sideline us by giving only advisory roles," Suman said.
Echoing the sentiment, another EC member, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "Principals generally don't object to the decisions taken by the officials. And, in the process, it will ultimately lead to the committee taking anti-student decisions like conducting entrance exams and scrapping 50 per cent internal quota in post-graduation."
The members of both the bodies claimed that they will turn down any such decision that will come to them for approval. "We will turn down any decision taken by this committee if it is not in the interest of students," Suman said.
Despite several attempts, both the registrar and Officer on Special Duty, Ashutosh Bharadwaj (Admissions), did not respond for a comment.
