Warning of "consequences", the University Grants Commission(UGC) today directed Delhi University and its colleges to admit students only under the three-year undergraduate programme from the new academic session and not under the controversial four-year one, a move hailed by both teachers' and students' bodies.
Setting a deadline till tomorrow "forenoon" for compliance, a tough-talking UGC told a defiant Delhi University(DU) that failure by it and all its 64 colleges to comply with the order could result in punitive action like freezing of grants.
When contacted, DU Registrar Alka Sharma refused to comment on the UGC decision. "It is a Sunday today and I will not respond on the issue," she said.
The Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP), introduced last year, has drawn flak from both students and teachers but the Delhi University has held that it will not be scrapped.
With admission to the undergraduate programme beginning on Tuesday, hassled students are hoping for clarity and a quick end to the UGC-DU row.
"Under no circumstances shall the University of Delhi or any of the colleges under it admit students to the FYUP for academic year 2014-15," the UGC said in a statement.
"Any deviation from this directive either by the University of Delhi or any of the colleges under it shall be deemed to be in contravention of the UGC Act, 1956 with its consequences," it warned.
The UGC said it would be ensured that students, who were admitted in 2013-14 in FYUP when it was introduced, are able to migrate to the three-year programme.
The move seeks to put a lid on the agitation by students' and teachers' bodies demanding scrapping of the FYUP.
An executive committee member of Delhi University Teachers Association Vijaya Venkataraman welcomed the UGC move.
"The DU is flouting all norms by conducting the programme and the Vice-Chancellor has remained adamant. Therefore, UGC's decision is welcome," she said.
Delhi University Students Union President Aman Awana also hailed the decision and said they would take out a victory rally tomorrow. They would also meet HRD Minister Smriti Irani to thank her.
