Delhi University (DU) plans to set up a new campus in the eastern district of the national capital, officials said, adding that it will not only help reduce the administrative burden on the northern and southern campuses but will also boost higher education opportunities in the region.
Delhi University has two campuses—North and South, as well as several affiliated colleges spread across the city. DU pro-vice-chancellor (VC) PC Joshi, who is also acting vice-chancellor, has announced that the new campus will be located in Surajmal Vihar, East Delhi.
"We've got land in East Delhi, and we're trying to turn it into a campus, just like we've got a North and a South campus. We want to have a campus in East Delhi, too. The university's high-level committee has recently inspected the site, and we are holding a meeting on Wednesday to discuss this. We will then bring the matter to the other statutory bodies of the university for their approval," he said. The DU tweeted that Joshi, along with other senior officials, had visited the site on December 5.
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The land identified is located near the Karkardooma district court complex and is accessible by both the Blue and Red Delhi Metro lines.
Joshi said the administration was planning to set up a law centre and liberal arts departments on the new campus. "We've already made a plan, but it's still in a very early stage. The project will cost around Rs 600 crore, so we will also have to make provision for the funds. These things take time, but we've started moving in that direction," he said.
In the DU, 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 College said that it will not only provide more opportunities for higher education but will also help to manage administrative work well. "At the moment, the South Campus is in charge of the administrative work of 24 colleges and the North Campus is in charge of the remaining 40 colleges. It would be easier for colleges located in East and North East Delhi to work efficiently if they had their own campus."
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Some of the principals of DU colleges located in East Delhi echoed the sentiment. Payal Mago, Principal of Shaheed Rajguru College in Vasundhara Enclave, said We have to send someone to North campus almost every day to do some administrative work. Our students must also travel all the way to the North Campus for any grievance. It is even more difficult for us 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 said that the university should also consider starting new colleges. Dinesh Kumar, a member of Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS)—a student group active in DU—said, "If the university plans to have a new campus, new colleges should also be opened in order to increase the number of undergraduates. Every year so many students, especially those from the marginalised sections, are forced to attend distance learning courses because of limited seats in DU colleges."
Deepak Pental, former vice-chancellor of the DU, said that the third campus should be used either for new courses or for the Open Learning School (SoL). "The university does not need another campus to repeat the same postgraduate courses that the other two have already offered. The new campus should either offer very different courses or be dedicated to the SoL, which is already struggling with poor infrastructure. In addition, the university can set up as many administrative offices there he said.
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