In a marathon meeting that started at 9 am and ended around 7.30 pm, members of the Academic Council (AC) discussed and debated the proposal of a task force that was ultimately passed near unanimously with 80 for it and 6 against.
Five teachers associated with Leftist bodies dissented to the move, so did Prof Satish Deshpande, Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences, sources said.
The University Registrar said in a statement that the AC adopted the programme with multiple degrees options ranging from an Associate Baccalaureate in two years.
"This historic decision offers students a range of foundation courses, and discipline courses enhanced through application courses. Cultural and sports activities form a part of the curriculum for the first time," the statement said.
The programme will entail a shift from the present 10+2+3 scheme to a four-year-graduation with multiple exit points and freedom to complete remaining years over a period of time. The students can opt out of the course after completing two years, three years as well as stay on for four years.
Students who have left with a two or three years degrees will be allowed to return to complete their remaining years later if they want to.
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The decision was described as "historic" repeatedly during the meeting, but the dissenting members argued that before a shift of this degree a detailed study of courses run in four year patterns in other institution should have been conducted and teachers and experts consulted credibly in the process.
The AC also authorized the Vice Chancellor to form committees of various subjects to prepare detailed courses for consideration of the course committees.
The dissenting teachers opposed this move, saying the procedure for preparing detailed courses is to hold general body meetings in which all teachers participate and course committees are formed coinsisting of specialized teachers.
Prof Amitava Chakraborty, one of the dissenting members, said this was akin to turning the democratic process upside down.
"One of the arguments presented in favour of the course was that the University would now no longer follow the colonial system, but this is not even an Indian nomenclature and the courses will be framed by the appointees of the VC who will pick up people who will follow their diktats," he said.
Some of the changes approved by the AC include compulsory paper on Indian Literature, 5 classes per week for language foundation papers, two language papers.
Some dissenters also objected to the fact that invited members were not barred from taking the vote which is illegal.
Earlier, in a joint statement all Left teacher and student groups lashed out at the Vice Chancellor for trying to "impose" the new structure under "extra-academic considerations".