New Delhi: Numerous institutions under Delhi University are all in desperate need of expansion and better spacious facilities to stay consistent with their booming students enrolled.
Due to space restrictions on site, the need for students to take online classes, and the high proportion of students choosing the newly Value Added Courses have given rise to a problem that needs to be looked into.
This has been an ongoing problem at DU, but it has resurfaced now that offline classes have started following the Covid-induced lockout and limitations. A reliable source examined four colleges and spoke with students, instructors, and officials to gain an understanding of the difficulties the institution is experiencing.
Miranda House
The Miranda House college campus on DU's North Campus is a 15-acre property with gardens and well-ventilated, well-lit spaces. It has about 4,000 students and 75 classes. Yet, the building's roughly 70-year-old lack of classroom space is a typical criticism made by pupils.
Akshaya, a third-year BA candidate from Kerala, explained that if third-year pupils have a test on a specific day, first- and second-year students are sent home or, in some disciplines, lectures are conducted remotely.
Physics faculty students expressed comparable worries. "Two batches have also been merged, and now each class has more than 100 students. 4-5 pupils are seated on seats designed for 3.”
“When everyone arrives for class, it becomes quite crowded. It might be hard to ask queries from the rear, therefore some students choose to sit on the ground,’ the students continued.
Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda responded to students regarding concerns raised by them by saying, "For a government organisation, we are quite privileged to have the space that we possess, but yes, we do indeed have over-admission.”
He continued, “Additionally we have programmes that are crammed owing to their popular appeal, so in regards to class size, we cannot foresee. Expansion remains a good idea, but in regards to resources, we are doing pretty well with what we have."
Nanda also emphasised that it is difficult to grow vertically since some elements of the site are designated as heritage zones. But, the emphasis of Miranda House is to reduce carbon emissions and not restrict kids to the concept of classrooms solely in a concrete structure, she claimed, thus the concept of classrooms is evolving.
Nandini Dutta, Delhi University's college bursar, highlighted the difficulties in creating extra capacity in an interview with . "Infrastructure is a persistent problem since more individuals are using our platforms, which is a problem. There is constantly a need for improved facilities.”
“The majority of institutions in DU are dealing with this problem. That shouldn't imply we don't answer newer requests, but getting acquainted could take longer as development takes time. Nevertheless, extending a classroom isn't the same as building another room. We also want to finance,” she continued.
Delhi College of Zakir Husain (Morning and Evening)
One of Delhi's oldest off-campus colleges, Zakir Husain College at DU, is in desperate need of infrastructure upgrades. Smaller classrooms, dated furniture, and a building under construction were a few of the concerns expressed by the pupils.
"Duke University's evening sessions typically run from 2 PM to 7 PM, but because of infrastructure issues, our lectures have been held from 4 to 9 pm. A second-year BA student stated, "The management has informed us that our sessions would resume at their regularly scheduled times only after the new facility opens.”
There are 100 students enrolled in second-year BA philosophy course that claims that when one cohort of students has an exam, the other batches are sent home and thus the class is relocated online. Because there isn't enough room, many pupils rarely attend class.
Female students also voiced security worries due to the late hours of class. Nishta Singh, a third-year BA student, stated, "I don't feel secure taking sessions that conclude about 9 pm, which is mostly due to space issues."
Together, the morning and evening colleges have about 10,000 enrolled students. "While there is still certain unfinished construction on the new venue, students must select courses for Value Added Courses that are of exceptionally high calibre. More than 300 individuals have chosen to take the psychology and digital marketing courses.”
“These programs are being offered for the first time, therefore we are still figuring out how to enhance them. These issues will be remedied once our new facility is up, perhaps in 5 to 6 months, according to Zakir Hussain Delhi College Principal Narender Singh (morning).”
Ramjas University
Both learners and instructors at Ramjas College, which opened in 1917 but transferred to its current site in North Campus in 1950, have expressed worries about space. There are between 5,000 and 6,000 students enrolled in the institution, together with roughly 200 hostellers (boys and girls) and 250 professors.
A third-year student remarked, "I had lofty aspirations because it was my first time on campus when offline classes began. I was sitting on the floor in class on my second day of college. This was not the type of education experience I had anticipated from a North Campus college.“
Teachers have also noted a lack of capacity in the staff lounge as well as in classrooms. Political science department associate professor Tanvir Aeijaz said: "It is challenging for a teacher to manage 300–400 children in the Value Added Course.”
“You will need to extend the infrastructure as the demand rises. The maximum number of students that a classroom may have is 40–50. Instructors cannot fit in the staff room because there isn't enough room,” he continued.
According to Dr Shailesh Kumar Diwakar, an assistant professor of political science at the institution, "I instruct a class of 550 students on Constitutional Values and Basic Duties for the VAC paper. The class can hold 66 people.”
“I split the class into four sections and provide four sessions, which should total one lecture every week under ideal circumstances. There have been roughly 110 students in each session, even in those 4 lectures, which is an issue, and it has an impact on instruction quality as well,” he stated.
The institution contains 33 labs and 90 classrooms that are also utilised for instruction.
Manoj Khanna, the principal, stated in a statement that "currently, we are maximising resources. We are digitising the schedule so that we recognize which space is available at what hour.”
He continued, “Student population was greater than the capacity during the cut-off-based intake process. For instance, even though our capacity was for 70 students, we would have had to enrol all 100 students who satisfied the 95% cut-off point. This issue will be dealt with by CUET.”
"A whole floor was under development to expand the number of classes; it is nearly finished," he stated.
Hansraj University
Classes at Hansraj College are divided into three blocks: A, B, and C. A portion of C block is also being built.
Students complained about the lack of room and stated that courses were held online while examinations were being taken. A second-year geology student stated, "There is no room at the college campus, therefore I have to trek 2 kilometres to the DU geology department regularly to join lab classes."
The first- and second-year students took their lessons online during third-year exams since there wasn't enough room to hold them concurrently, according to Sharanya, a philosophy student who is involved with SFI.
We spend a great deal of cash looking for housing in Delhi just to learn later that we must take lessons online. Everyone doesn't have reliable WiFi or the right equipment to take online courses. When we addressed the instructors, they stated that there was insufficient room for everyone.
There are 61 classes and 5,000 students enrolled in the college. But, according to Dr. Rama Sharma, the college's principal, both space and infrastructure are not an issue this time around.
He said, "This time, owing to the excess of all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years together, it could look like we're experiencing a space crisis. On campus, development is being done as well as infrastructure expansion.
Sharma commented, "We don't send students home, and we have succeeded in maintaining all courses throughout examinations," in response to the question of switching to online classrooms. We cannot refer to this as an issue; rather, it is situational management.
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