ECA suffers in a hostile environment

The Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) has been criticised for its academic shortcomings but the magnitude of its repercussions is realised when one looks into the impact it has on other aspects of student life. For instance the feasibility of extracurricular activities (ECA) largely supported by a base of well established societies in the new curriculum is likely to be affected. Societies are an important part of cultural identity in Delhi University (DU) with some of them dating back to the establishment of the institution itself. With the vocationisation of course material there is no place for creative enquiry. ECA and its scope within the rescheduled course format will no doubt see a constrained future.<br><br>Festivals and cultural activities are supported by the Cultural Council which constitutes a part of the Student’s welfare Office. Its optimistic stance on the situation is evident is its schedule of cultural events that are tight knit into the semester calendar. The ECA committees across colleges have witnessed a different angle to the story. The FYUP’s highly competitive environment has lead to many students opting for means other than academic records in the wake of high cut-offs. This led to an outpouring of prospective candidates thronging all over the campus irrespective of talent.  Add to this the constraints of time and lack of proper examination along with malpractices of favoritism has added to student woes.<br>Societies in the colleges function on a hierarchical tradition that helps them maintain standards of excellence. They now stand the risk of being demoted to mere recreational outfits that offer break from the FYUP’s demanding timetable. The festivals that the University’s administration boasts of will devalue in time to come and become an abysmal programme. In the case it does not get scrapped due to unpopularity and un-productivity, it will become another abysmal showpiece that will require a compulsive participation. The University has not just changed the curriculum but traded an environment of free expression with control and crushed student life under the vice-grip of conformity.