Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
On 13 December when the Delhi Technological University (DTU) was busy with its convocation day, around 70 students were protesting right outside the college gate.
Holding placards that said, ‘Our future is in your hands, you can either make it or break it’, the students went on shouting slogans, ‘DTU VC, DOWN, DOWN’.
Students on Loans Anxious About Future
Devesh Kumar, 22, a second-year-engineering student, who was found protesting, has been upset of late. He alleges the university ‘misinformed’ the prospective students about the four-year BTech evening course.
Devesh claims that two years ago, he took admission in the college thinking it would be like any regular college. It was after spending more than a year here that he realised the BTech Evening course he had enrolled for was a part-time one.
According to Devesh, the prospectus released by the college didn’t mention anything about the course being part-time.
“After taking admission, I came to know that our degree will be part-time. I have even applied for a loan to complete my studies here. What’s the point in taking loan when there is no surety about a secure future?”Devesh Kumar, Student (Delhi Technological University)
Ordinance Defined Student As One Pursuing ‘Full-Time’ Course
Devesh is not the only one who feels ‘cheated’ by the university. For Karthik, a second-year student of civil engineering, the revelation about part-time degree has come as a heavy blow.
It was at the beginning of 2018 when murmurs about the part-time course began doing the rounds among students. Most of the second-year students who participated in protests cite the university’s Ordinance (5A) in their defence.
This Ordinance which has been in effect since 2015 defined those enrolled for the B.Tech (Evening) course as:
“Student shall mean a student registered for an undergraduate program for full-time study leading to the Bachelor of Technology (Evening) degree.”Ordinance 5(A) issued by DTU in 2015
These aspiring engineers claim that since the Ordinance mentioned ‘full-time’ in its definition of student, they were assured that the BTech Evening programme would be ‘full-time’ as well.
University Admits ‘Printing Mistake’ in a Video
In a video shot by a student inside the university’s Dr BR Ambedkar Auditorium, Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof SK Garg can be heard admitting it to be a ‘printing mistake’. The video was recorded on 10 August 2018.
A female student can be heard asking about the Ordinance to which Prof Garg responds: ‘It might be a printing mistake for which we will issue a clarification’.
For Kartik whose candidature was rejected when he had applied for a government scholarship, it is the end of road, literally:
“This course is not valid in any PSU or company. Companies mention it in criteria that we want only full-time BTech degree so, we are not able to apply at such places.”Kartik, Student (Delhi Technological University)
No Response by Chancellor
DTU is the capital’s first engineering college, established in 1941. Delhi’s current LG Anil Baijal is the chancellor of DTU.
Aparnendu Tripathi, another second-year student at the university who is leading the protests shared a copy of the letter sent to the Vice Chancellor Prof Yogesh Singh, a copy of which was sent to Chancellor Anil Baijal as well.
There was no response to the letter dated 5 September 2018 in which Aparnendu had sought a clarification on the status of “students” who are currently pursuing BTech Evening programme.
“In our last meeting with the VC, he accepted that they admit it to be a printing mistake. But that printing mistake is a big blunder.”Aparnendu Tripathi, Student (Delhi Technological University)
RTI Reveals BTech Evening is Part-Time Course
In response to an RTI query by Aparnendu in September this year, the university admitted that BTech Evening is a four-year course that offers part-time degree.
The Quint had sent a questionnaire to Pro VC Prof SK Garg as well as the concerned spokesperson at UGC. We will update the story with their responses if and when we hear back from the concerned authorities.
For now, as many as 750 students of BTech Evening batch are staring at an uncertain future with some thinking of opting for legal recourse.
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