BJP opposes FYUP

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley is the latest to jump on to the bandwagon to oppose the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP) in Delhi University, after Left took the lead. Arun Jaitley dashed off a missive to HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju to register his own personal opposition to the move. Arun Jaitley started his political career with his election as Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president on ABVP ticket. Obviously, he does not want DU to make a radical departure, which the varsity is eloquently defending. The Left-BJP parliamentary floor coordination seems to spill on to the academic arena. Ordinarily it is the discretion of the academic community to decide the duration of its course. "Many like me would respect the decision of the academic community. However, in the present instance I am constrained to observe that adequate and extensive discussion within the university has not been held while deciding to switch over to a four year course; even with regard to the content of the curriculum, the subject has not been adequately discussed in the various faculties and departments; the impact of a three-year course becoming a four-year course in terms of the socio-economic realties of India has not been factored. It has not been discussed why the switch over to the four-year course is for one university and does not apply to the others universities," Jaitley remarked.