The UGC Monday directed Delhi University to continue with the bachelor's degree in management studies (BMS) for the students admitted last year, but asked the university to reduce the course duration to three years.
The degree course was introduced as part of the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), and with the scrapping of the FYUP, the BMS was also rolled out.
"Students admitted to the BMS FYUP programme of 2013-2014 by colleges under DU may continue the programme. However, the duration of the programme shall be of three years," the University Grants Commission said in a letter.
The commission also directed the university to obtain approval of the regulatory bodies such as the All India Institute for Technical Education (AICTE), so that the students do not face problems.
Earlier Monday, BMS students staged a protest outside the UGC office here.
"We have been protesting for the last few days and have suffered physical and mental pressure but still the UGC continues to shift the date of meeting to consider our demands," Ashis Jain, a student enrolled under BMS, told IANS.
The BMS course was introduced after merging three courses - B.A. (honours) in Business Economics (BBE), Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) and Bachelor of Financial and Investment Analysis (BFIA).
"We want the BMS course to stay for us and the batch that comes after. Only a single batch receiving a BMS degree won't help. Our degrees will not be valued and will be termed as a failed experiment," Navdeep, studying BMS in Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, told IANS.
The university Sunday declared that admissions to BBS and BBE will be held on the basis of the criteria already announced for BMS admission 2014-15.
"Our demand is bring back BMS. If the authorities do not do anything, we will go to court," Aman Garg of Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies told IANS.
