The department said the revised curriculum was initially designed keeping in view the National Education Policy’s (NEP) four-year BA plus one-year MA (4+1) structure, under which the fourth-year BA was intended to be an advanced year of study.
Panjab University’s (PU) department of history has decided to restore the earlier Punjab and Sikh history papers in the two-year MA history programme after student organisations objected to their reduced presence in the revised syllabus. The fourth-year BA and first-year MA syllabus will now be separated, while students pursuing the conventional two-year MA will continue with the earlier syllabus.
“The fourth year of the BA is now meant to be an advanced year of study. “The students submitted a memorandum to me as well. This is a sensitive issue, and we are revising the chapters keeping that in mind. “We support the guidelines of NEP, but Punjab’s history should not be removed from the syllabus.
“The papers were designed for the 4+1 system.
Initially, the syllabus for the fourth-year BA and the first-year MA was designed accordingly,” Priyatosh said. But this is a sensitive issue, and keeping in view the concerns raised, we have now decided to separate the fourth-year BA and first-year MA syllabus,” he said. Old syllabus to continue for two-year MA Department chairperson Jasbir Singh said the issue would be taken up by the board of studies. The board of studies will be convened to resolve the issue,” he said. ABVP president Ankit Bidhan said the organisation supported the NEP framework but opposed the removal of existing Punjab history content. If the university wants to add something new, it should do so, but the old syllabus should not be taken out,” he said.
“The revised syllabus will be uploaded on Monday.
A comparison of the 2025-26 and 2026-27 syllabus shows that the earlier MA curriculum had dedicated papers covering Punjab’s history in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, besides the Guru period and Misls. The revised syllabus instead introduced more specialised, theme-based papers, including Modern Punjab (1849-1947 CE), anti-caste movements in Punjab and geography of Punjab.
Various student organisations had submitted a memorandum to the vice-chancellor (V-C) and chairperson of the department of history, seeking restoration of the Punjab and Sikh history topics taught under the earlier syllabus.
