New Delhi: Congress on Monday said that it did not support the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), with a party functionary even going to the extent of calling it a "criminal act" to increase the duration of the course from three years to four years.
The assertion by the party came on a day when the row over it took a new turn with colleges affiliated to Delhi University deferring the admission to the academic session 2014-15. The remarks by Congress came even as former HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju from the same party, who is a supporter of FYUP on Monday said that there was an attempt to politicise the issue.
At the AICC briefing, party spokesperson Shobha Oza, however, made it clear that Congress is fully behind its student wing NSUI, which is opposing the four-year course. "Congress has always stood for students' interest. When NSUI stands for scrapping the course, we fully support it. NSUI did a survey and found that students are not for it. NSUI wants a three-year graduation course. We back their demand," she said.
A senior party functionary speaking on the condition of anonymity said that it was some sort of "criminal act" to increase the duration of undergraduate course to four years at a time when even the duration of professional degrees are being cut short.
"Increasing the duration of undergraduate courses makes no sense. This is wastage of time," the party functionary said. He said that the row between the UGC and Delhi University was only a "tussle of ego".
As the UGC directed Delhi University to scrap the four-year undergraduate programme, former HRD Minister Raju, said, "Unfortunately there is an attempt to politicise it, which should not be done." Raju, who had defended the controversial FYUP, said the autonomy of universities must be respected.
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