The University of Delhi (DU) is planning to launch a scheme that will allow students from other universities or institutes to study various courses at the university from next year.
DU’s Academic Council (AC) will discuss the implementation of the scheme during its meeting on Wednesday.
According to the agenda of the meeting, the scheme called Competency Augmentation Scheme will enable people from “different walks of life” to enroll in the university, so that they can enhance their knowledge and understanding of any subject being taught here.
Admission under the scheme will be merit-based and candidates will be allowed to register for a maximum of two courses and eight credit subjects in a semester.
A candidate who fulfills the eligibility criteria and pre-requisites can register for the course, which is mentioned in the agenda.
“Besides the minimum eligibility criteria, must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest and enthusiasm for the courses offered for study. The candidate must have the necessary time and commitment to study the course with the students studying in regular mode, as mentioned on the agenda.
The agenda states that the number of seats in an open course for this scheme will be a maximum of 10 percent of the total number of classes in that course.
The registration of candidates for a specific course will be valid for one semester only.
The credits earned from the courses will be transferred to a student’s account at the Academic Bank of Credits.
Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) is a virtual warehouse that will hold digitally stored records of academic credit secured by a student. At the end of the course, students will get a certificate.
The agenda states that the scheme will fulfill the objectives of the new National Education Policy, which provides an opportunity for students to design their own educational path by studying various courses from different educational institutions.
The teaching and evaluation pattern of such students will be the same as that of the regular student of DU.
“The teaching or instruction shall be provided in the same mode and medium as the regular students and the evaluation pattern for these candidates shall be the same as that of the regular students,” the agenda read.
As per the agenda, a student who fails to pass or complete a course can re-register.
In an interview with PTI last month, Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh informed us about the varsity’s plans to introduce certificate courses for non-DU students from January next year.
Singh had said this would help people who want to learn about a particular topic or skill but do not want to get a full-time degree. “Some students want to pursue just a few subjects and do not want a degree. We are planning to start course-based registration for citizens and they can come and take classes with students of the varsity,” he had said.
