Delhi University (DU) is planning to double the fee for the correction of mistakes in mark sheets and degrees. This has raised concerns among students and faculty as it will burn a hole in the pockets of students.
Currently, students pay ₹500 for the correction of mark sheets of documents issued in the last 6 years and ₹1000 for documents older than 6 years. The proposed change will double the fee to ₹1000 for documents issued in the last 6 years and ₹2000 for documents older than 6 years.
The fee hike is recommended by the committee at DU and will be taken up in the next Academic Council (AC) meeting on July 12. The hike is seen as a way to generate more revenue as government funding has been reduced.
Rajesh Jha, the former EC member, opposes the fee hike, saying mistakes in mark sheets are administrative errors and students shouldn’t be made to pay for the correction of these mistakes.
UGC and the Centre have asked universities to generate more resources. So DU has already increased fees in other areas. In December 2021, UDF was increased by 50% from ₹600 to ₹900 per student.
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DU is facing reduced grants from UGC. Lab grants have been cut down heavily, and UGC has allocated only ₹1.25 crore for lab equipment which is not enough to buy necessary equipment.
DU has also introduced the UG Curriculum Framework (UGCF) which is a four-year program with multiple exit options and new passing and promotion rules. Students now need to pass 50% of the papers in the first year to move ahead. A loophole was found where students could get promoted without passing any discipline-specific courses. The committee has recommended that students should get at least 28 out of 44 credits to get promoted.
So, doubling the fee for correction of mark sheets and degrees at DU is part of the overall plan to manage reduced government funding. But students and faculty members say why should students bear the brunt as these are administrative errors. The AC meeting on July 12 will be the deciding factor.