The University of Delhi (DU) on Friday approved direct admission to its PhD programmes for students who have completed a four-year undergraduate degree under the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022.
Event Context
The decision was taken at the 1027th meeting of the university’s Academic Council (AC), chaired by vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh, following a recommendation by the Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council (RIEC).
“Following a review of the recommendation made by the Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council (RIEC), amendments have been made to the regulations governing the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme,” the university said in a note issued on July 24.
Match Outlook
Under the revised regulations, students who have completed a four-year undergraduate programme will be eligible to enrol directly in PhD programmes. The university note, however, does not specify whether the new admission norms will come into effect from the 2026-27 academic session.
However, some AC members submitted a dissent note, arguing that the amended ordinance does not clearly specify how reservation norms would apply to four-year undergraduate students becoming eligible for direct PhD admission. They contended that these students have been clubbed with master’s and MPhil degree holders despite constituting a distinct category, raising concerns that reservation provisions could be compromised.
The Academic Council also approved the institution of the Late Shri Arun Jaitley Scholarship for undergraduate students excelling in sports. Beginning in 2026, three students will receive scholarships every year for 20 years from a corpus of ₹10 lakh. The scholarships will have a combined annual value of ₹50,000, with at least one award reserved for a female student. The inaugural scholarship ceremony is proposed to be held on August 13.
In another decision, the university approved renaming the School of Open Learning (SOL) as the Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE) following a recommendation by the SOL Governing Body.
Consequently, the designation of the head of the institution will also change, with the post of Principal being redesignated as Director of the CDOE, the university said.
The decisions are part of a series of academic and administrative changes approved by the council as the university aligns its regulations with the National Education Policy and the four-year undergraduate framework.
Further, an Academic Council (AC) member initiated a discussion on the ongoing protest, arguing thatthe university should remain autonomous andpolitically neutral. The discussion soon turnedheated, with the presiding officials contendingthat the protest was being driven by vested interests and asserting that the university had a responsibility to protect its students.
“We wanted to discuss the ongoing protest and the police action against the protesters, many of whom are students. However, describing the demonstration as being driven by vested interests, the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar turned the discussion into a heated exchange, arguing that the students needed to be protected,” an AC member, requesting anonymity told HT that heated exchange lasted 25mins and the overall 10-hour long meeting.
