The HRD Ministry was informed by the varsity in 2008 that the academic council has resolved to hold wide consultations for introducing the programme, HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
The Minister appeared to support the programme in his statement in Parliament which came in the wake of a section of teachers accusing the varsity authorities of being in a hurry to introduce the programme from July this year without holding exhaustive deliberations.
The Ministry has been further informed that the university held extensive consultations with various stakeholders such as students, parents, teachers, deans of faculty, heads of departments, principals of colleges, employers, among others over a period of two years, he said.
Raju said an open academic congress was also held in September last year attended by over 1,400 stakeholders and it recommended introducing the four year degree programme. A 61 member task-force had also endorsed the recommendations.
"After the discussion, the students expressed support for the new undergraduate programme," he said.