Delhi Universitys Executive Council in its 1,275th meeting held on Friday approved sweeping revisions to the curriculum in various departments, including Psychology, Sociology and English, while also clearing new programmes in journalism and nuclear medicine, uniform teacher seniority rules and administrative measures. The DU also clarified that every undergraduate course in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is of four years duration but the students have the option of multiple exit and multiple entry. Making this assertion, Registrar Dr Vikas Gupta students can leave the course whenever they want. In the earlier education policy, students did not get anything if they left the three-year course midway, but the good provision in NEP 2020 is that there is a provision for students to get certificate to degree if they leave the course midway. The meeting began with a tribute to those killed in the recent Pahalgam terror attack and a resolution was passed expressing the DUs support for the Government of Indias Operation Sindoor, aimed at eliminating terrorism.  The Executive Council (EC), the highest statutory body, approved revisions to the elective paper Psychology of Peace, replacing conflict-based case studies with references from the Indian epics for peace and conflict resolution. In Relationship Science, a unit examining dating apps was also dropped. Sociology curriculum changes removed foundational theorists like Karl Marx and Thomas Robert Malthus from the paper Population and Society and scrapped a unit on the Sociology of Food. Meanwhile, the Indian authors, particularly those focused on religion, were emphasized in the Sociology of Law.  The meeting was, however, marked by strong dissent from several elected EC members over what they termed ideological interference and systematic erosion of academic autonomy. Controversial syllabus changes include the removal of case studies involving Kashmir, Palestine, India-Pakistan tensions and the Northeast, replaced by the Indian religious texts such as the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.  The changes triggered sharp opposition from the faculty and elected EC members. In parallel, the Delhi University (DU) is launching new programmes. A two-year MA in Journalism will be introduced through both Hindi and English departments. A new course, B.Sc. (Nuclear Medicine Technology), will be started from this academic session at Army Hospital (R&R), Delhi Cantonment under the Faculty of Medical Sciences.   The duration of this course will be Three years + One-year internship (optional) under the Department of Radiology. The aim of this course is to impart appropriate knowledge and skills to work closely with nuclear medicine physicians and participate in the daily operations of the Department of Nuclear Medicine. On administrative matters, the EC approved new uniform rules for determining teacher seniority. In cases where qualifications are equal, age will be the deciding factor followed by API scores.  Additionally, EC member Aman Kumar said  that Vice Chancellor Prof. Yogesh Singh has formed a nine-member committee to review the DoPT notification mandating periodic review of employees aged 50 or above and enabling compulsory retirement where applicable.   The committee will examine the impact of this policy on the DU employees and ensure fairness in its implementation, he said. During Zero Hour, the Vice Chancellor said the DU has to return only 10 per cent of the HIFA loan in 10 years. This is a good scheme. He informed that new buildings and infrastructure are being constructed in DU with the money received from HIFA, which will provide good facilities to the students. Giving information about the expansion of health services for DU employees, the Vice Chancellor informed that DU has signed an MoU with the Railway Hospital in Delhi.

Stay updated with all the Delhi Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.