DU turns 100 with new set of goals on plate
NEW DELHI: The office of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi (DU) was once a place from where World War I was controlled and monitored and now is the nodal point where the university administration functions. Yogesh Sigh, DU’s Vice-Chancellor, recalled this moment on the occasion of celebrating the 100th year of the varsity.
He talked about the uniqueness of the Viceregal Lodge as it predates the formation of the university. The Viceregal Lodge Estate was the residence of the Viceroy unit and was passed on to DU in 1933. Beginning with three colleges — St Stephen’s, Ramjas College and Hindu College, having 750 students, two faculties and 53 teachers, it has grown as one of the largest universities in India with 90 colleges, 6.5 lakh students, 16 faculties, 86 academic departments and 788 teachers.
As many as 540 programmes are offered which are approved by Academic and Executive Councils, out of which 209 are considered for NAAC accreditation. The rest of the courses are separately accredited.
Some buildings such as the council hall in the campus are still being used like they were in the colonial era. The legislative council of the colonial era used to hold meetings there, which is now used for meetings of the academic and executive council of the university.
Singh while speaking to The New Indian Express shared the set of goals he wishes to set for the university for the next 25 years. “The first goal is to see DU among the top 200 universities of the world. I believe that we have the potential to do it. As of now, there is no Indian university to make a mark in the list, that is why we wish to see ourselves achieve that goal,” he said.
Improving the infrastructure is another important task for the varsity. DU’s VC said that since the university is 100 years old, the infrastructure is also old and needs revamping, constructions, restructuring, and renovation. DU planned to spend Rs 1,500 crore under the ‘Infrastructure projects’ and Rs 500 crore alone will be spent on renovation and restoration. Singh said, “The library, auditoriums, hostels, guest houses are all in bad shape and we need to renovate them.”
He added, “However, we need to work hard to arrange this much money.”In order to arrange money for the infrastructure projects, the varsity has already registered a company, Friends of University of Delhi Foundation, which will work for raising funds. Besides, the varsity has also applied to the Government of India for Rs 1,000 crore from the higher education funding agency. Singh said the university has internal resources as well worth Rs 200-300 crores.
Meanwhile, for the centenary year starting May 1, 2022 and ending April 30, 2023, the university has decided to bring many new initiatives. The university has planned to facilitate the unsung heroes of the varsity who have done remarkable work in their life and for humanity. The varsity will identify such personalities and give them a platform to share their stories.
The varsity is also planning to hold a function to promote sports as well. “The university has already produced many sportspersons and now we wish to facilitate them such that their life experiences can create pro sports environment in the varsity,” said the vice-chancellor.Meanwhile, another facilitation ceremony will be organized for people who have achieved heights in culture, dance, singing and writing fields. Singh said that this will take time but within a year, the varsity will complete the process of identifying these personalities.