High drama over VC resignation; most colleges agree to UGC directive

The assurance came after confusion over the admission process that was scheduled to begin Tuesday but was deferred by the colleges citing "lack of clarity and conflicting guidelines".

Confirming that the DU colleges had written to the UGC, Ram Lal Anand College principal Vijay K. Sharma told IANS: "In the letter, we have asked the competent authority to give us a clear directive on how we are supposed to go forward."

A total of 2.7 lakh students have applied for the 54,000 available seats in the DU colleges.

Earlier Tuesday, the announcement of Dinesh Singh's resignation sparked wild celebrations by students bitterly opposed to the FYUP and angry reactions from those who supported the vice chancellor.

Teachers sympathetic to Dinesh Singh, whose pet project FYUP came into being last year, said he quit after the UGC threatened to freeze the university's funds over the programme and Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani refused to intervene.

By Tuesday evening, Dinesh Singh's lawyer Suraj Singh told the media that he had not quit and was still the vice chancellor.

Earlier, the news of Dinesh Singh's quitting was followed by the resignations of DU's three top officials, including pro vice chancellor Sudhish Pachauri.

The standoff between DU and the UGC over scrapping the FYUP has left 2.7 lakh applicants in the lurch.

The tussle began June 20 when the UGC directed DU to scrap the course and replace it with the original three-year programme. Despite the UGC's repeated reminders, the university remained non-committal.