Delhi University has instructed its affiliated colleges to give top priority to the hiring of permanent faculty members as against guest appointments, in an effort to improve academic continuity and quality. The instruction was given by Vice Chancellor Prof Yogesh Singh at the 1022nd meeting of the Academic Council, the university’s highest academic decision-making body.
The Vice Chancellor urged colleges to advertise vacancies and get the process of appointment at least once or twice a year. “Colleges need to prioritize appointments in permanent posts rather than depend on guest faculty,” Singh urged, appealing to principals to move ahead on ongoing and forthcoming vacancies, particularly the ones occurring due to retirements among faculty.
At the meeting of the Academic Council on Saturday, Delhi University also sanctioned a range of new academic initiatives, most notably foreign languages. School of Open Learning (SOL) was accorded sanction to introduce certificate, diploma, and advanced diploma programmes in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages from the 2025–26 academic year onwards. A one-year Advanced Diploma (JP-3) programme in Japanese is also being launched at Ramjas College.
In another key development, the Department of Distance and Continuing Education has been cleared to start certificate courses in French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. These courses will be available at the Open Learning Development Center, CISBC, from the 2024–25 academic session.
Delhi University, which runs one of the country’s largest networks of higher education, is also revising its curriculum in line with the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022. The new syllabi were approved by the council in various faculties and the decision was made to translate Persian, Arabic, and Urdu works from existing syllabi into English for greater accessibility for a wider student population.
DELHI UNIVERSITY’s investment in faculty hiring and course development poses the question: will this increased focus on quality instruction and language acquisition remake the university’s intellectual life?
Responding to a question on faculty recruitment in 12 Delhi government-funded colleges, Vice Chancellor Singh stated that talks were ongoing with the Delhi government and a positive solution was expected soon. These colleges have been suffering from continuous difficulties in recruiting faculty due to administrative delay and lack of funds.
Registrar Dr Vikas Gupta tabled the minutes of the 1021st Academic Council meeting held on December 27 and placed an action report on the work done on previous decisions. According to university procedure, the proposals approved now will be tabled before the Executive Council for final approval. The Executive Council is to meet on May 23.
With prioritisation of permanent hiring and offering wider academic course components, Delhi University seems to be proactively embarking upon infusing newer looks into infrastructure along with delivering enhanced academic provisions for students. A focus upon studying East Asian as well as European languages displays an intention towards synchronising developments on the education scene globally so as to boost job prospects with the growing trend for international employment among students in today’s fast-moving global work economy.
Faculty and education professionals appreciated the emphasis on stable teaching faculty, as they pointed out that dependence on guest faculty tends to disrupt course delivery and academic planning. “A permanent faculty body ensures consistency, research orientation, and mentoring for students,” a member of the Academic Council said.
In addition, the translation of non-English content in the course material has been commended extensively as a long-overdue inclusive move. It should prove to be advantageous for a large majority of Delhi University’s multicultural students, particularly those who are not expert in Persian, Arabic, or Urdu but interested in learning cultural texts due to research work or personal interest.
Delhi University remains set as a pioneering university that juxtaposes conventional disciplinary domains with global competency. While bringing greater initiatives for recruitment and more extensive courses of study, the university is certainly aligning with national reforms and international best practices in academic teaching.
The Executive Council’s endorsement later this month will be the last step in putting into action the most recent decisions, most of which are likely to have a long-term effect on the university’s academic organization and student results.
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