DU's 4th-yr plan raises concern over teaching load and staff gaps

DU IS CONSIDERING DEPLOYING GUEST FACULTY TO HELP MANAGE EXTRA TEACHING LOAD

- Aheli Das

NEW DELHI: As Delhi University readies for its first batch of fourth-year undergraduate students, teachers are raising red flags over mounting workload and insufficient support. With the seventh and eighth semesters set to begin between late July and early August under the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022, faculty members said the university is pushing ahead without a realistic assessment of teaching capacity or infrastructure needs.

A major concern, they alleged, is the growing mismatch between sanctioned teaching hours and the number of hours now required due to the additional academic year. "In some of our department meetings, we realised there's a huge shortfall," said a faculty member from the geography department of a prominent DU college, requesting anonymity. "Our department has around 194-196 sanctioned hours. But with the fourth year included, we now need about 289 hours."