Delhi University to Boost New Educational Opportunities by setting up New Campus in East Delhi
University of Delhi (DU) is planning to set up a new campus in the eastern district of New Delhi, officials of Delhi University said that setting up New Campus will help in reducing the administrative burden on the northern and southern campuses and will also uplift higher education opportunities in the region.
Delhi University has North and South two campuses, and several affiliated colleges that are spread across the city. Pro-vice-chancellor PC Joshi of Delhi University, who is also current vice-chancellor, has disclosed that the new campus will be located in Surajmal Vihar, East Delhi.
PC Joshi said they have got land in East Delhi, and they are trying to turn this land into a campus, just like they have got a North and a South campus. They want to have a campus in East Delhi, too. The university's high-level committee has recently examined the site, and they will be holding a meeting on Wednesday to discuss this. After all this the matter will be brought to the other legal bodies of the University for their Approval. The University of Delhi tweeted recently that Joshi, along with other senior officials, had visited the site in Surajmal Vihar, East Delhi on December 5.
The land disclosed is situated near the Karkardooma district court complex and is within reach by both the Blue and Red Delhi Metro lines.
Vice-chancellor PC Joshi said that this is a 600 crore and still in a very early stage making plan so we will also have to make provision for the funds to go ahead for the project, the administration is planning to set up a law centre and liberal arts departments on the new campus that is going to set up in Surajmal Vihar, East Delhi. Joshi said “all these things take time, but we've started moving in that direction".
The University of Delhi, while colleges offer undergraduate courses, the departments and faculties for postgraduate courses are located on the campuses. North and South campuses also divide the administrative work of the colleges in their vicinity. Whereas off-campus colleges located in East and West Delhi, have to do their daily administrative work in coordination with the North Campus.
Explaining the rationale behind the establishment of a new campus, DU Dean of College Balaram Pani said that it will not only provide more opportunities for higher education but will also help to manage administrative work well. "Currently, the South Campus is in charge of the administrative work of 24 colleges and the remaining 40 colleges are under the in charge of North Campus. It would be easier for colleges located in East and North East Delhi to work efficiently if they had their own campus."
Payal Mago, Principal of Shaheed Rajguru College in Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi University located in East Delhi said “they have to send someone to North campus daily to do some administrative work. Our students must also travel all the way to the North Campus for any affront. It is more tough for our college to coordinate during the examination or admissions. Things are going to be easier for us if we get to campus in Surajmal Vihar."
Several students have put forth saying that the university should also consider starting new colleges. A student group active in Delhi University Dinesh Kumar, also a member of Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) said, "As the university is planning to have a new campus, they should also open new colleges in order to increase the number of undergraduates. The marginalized section students are forced to attend distance learning courses every year because of limited seats in DU colleges."
Former vice-chancellor of the Delhi University Deepak Pental, said that the third campus they are planning to establish should be used either for new courses or for the Open Learning School. "The Delhi University doesn’t need another campus to repeat the postgraduate courses that are already there which the other two have already offered. The new campus should either be dedicated to the Open Learning School which is already struggling with poor infrastructure or offer very different courses.
