‘No student in DU Academic Council in last 10 years’

For the last 10 years, the Delhi University’s Academic Council, the highest academic body of the university, has not seen a single student member as part of this body, an RTI received from the university has revealed. 

The RTI reply received from the Delhi University by advocate Mohit Kumar Gupta said that, “no student member has been elected/nominated under statute 7(I) (xiii) in the last ten years and even presently, there is no student representative is the member of the Academic Council.” 

The RTI further said that no amendments have also been made to the university’s Academic Council statute, 7(I) (xiii), which would have withdrawn the membership of students’ representation in the Council. 

The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the university and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the university. Rocky Tusheer, president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), told The Sunday Guardian, “Ever since 2010, we have been trying to put this across to the administration, but nothing seems to have worked so far. We have even apprised the Vice Chancellor of the matter; even then, no students were taken into the Council. Universities are for students and lack of students’ representation in a body that decides the future and academic matters of the students, is very unfortunate.” The DUSU is also preparing a “Student’s Charter” in consultation with all student bodies from all the colleges under Delhi University. The “charter” would include the demand for students’ representation in both the Academic Council as well as in the Executive Council of the university. 

Apart from students, several college principals, the Vice Chancellor, Registrar, Deans and Director of South Campus and School of Open Learning, are supposed to be members of the council.