Frontlist | DU-affiliated College of Art to be merged with Ambedkar University

While the Delhi government announced the decision on Tuesday, DU Registrar Vikas Gupta said any decision on College of Art’s de-affiliation with DU was yet to be taken. “They had written to us about 8-10 days ago saying they would look to de-affiliate from DU. We said we would place it before our Academic Council (AC) since it’s a major policy decision. We can’t take any decision without the approval of statutory bodies,” he said. A Delhi government official said, “The Delhi College of Art is fully funded by the Delhi government. Therefore, the decision to bring it under Dr B R Ambedkar university does not need any form of clearance from DU.” Four AC members — Kapila Mallah, Sudhanshu Kumar, Alok Ranjan Pandey, Chander Mohan Negi — and two Executive Council members — Seema Das and J L Gupta — have written to the DU vice chancellor opposing the decision. “Such attempt at de-affiliation of DU colleges leading to the dismemberment of the University of Delhi is in contravention to the Acts, statutes and ordinances of DU, which must be stopped at all levels,” they wrote. B S Chauhan, officiating principal of the College of Art, remained non-committal when asked if he agreed with the decision. However, he said the college was facing several issues. “Our intake is decided by AICTE but academic approval comes from DU. But DU doesn’t conduct our admissions or exams. We have received no support from DU even though we are affiliated since 1974. We are not able to recruit permanent faculty; there has been no permanent principal since 2012. There are too many agencies and issues. I just want that whatever happens should be for the benefit of students,” he said.   Read More: Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ releases study material of Indian Knowledge Tradition courses of NIOS Source: Indian Express