Delhi University has proposed scrapping six vocational programmes at the College of Vocational Studies and replacing them with more popular BA combinations as part of efforts to address low-demand courses. (File Photo)With Delhi University’s (DU’s) undergraduate (UG) admissions currently open, faculty members at the College of Vocational Studies (CVS) have raised concerns against a proposed overhaul to discontinue six UG programmes of Vocational Studies, The Indian Express has learnt.According to minutes of meeting of the college’s Department of Commerce, held on June 26, faculty members discussed a university proposal to discontinue five B.A (Vocational Studies) programmes — Human Resource Management, Marketing Management and Retail Business, Materials Management, Small and Medium Enterprises, and Insurance Management — and replace them with new interdisciplinary B.A.programme combinations such as Commerce with Economics, Commerce with Computer Science, Hindi with Commerce, Economics with Mathematics and History with Political Science.The department unanimously resolved to oppose the move and decided to submit representations to the DU Vice-Chancellor, the Dean of Academics and the Dean of Admissions “requesting that the existing B.A. (Vocational Studies) programmes be continued”.The developments follow an earlier decision by the College Staff Council and Governing Body.According to the Governing Body minutes dated February 7, the college resolved to discontinue the B.A. (Vocational Studies) in Modern Office Management (MOM) that had 111 sanctioned seats. Those seats were to be redistributed by introducing one additional section of B.Com. (Honours) with 60 seats and increasing seats in B.A. (Honours) English, History and Economics. According to DU’s official curriculum document, “The course aims to prepare the Executive Secretary with proper knowledge of different types of communication and correspondence, presentation skill along with effective reports.”The row has its origins in a university-wide exercise launched earlier this year. In the wake of persistent seat vacancies since UG admissions were centralised through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) in 2022, DU constituted a committee to examine whether low-demand B.A. programme combinations, particularly in off-campus colleges, could be realigned to improve seat utilisation.The committee recommended that colleges reassess discipline combinations where student preferences remained low and merge less popular subjects with more sought-after ones. At DU, previous years’ trends show that Commerce continues to dominate as the most opted-for stream, with B.Com and B.Com (Hons.) consistently emerging as the most preferred undergraduate programmes year after year, drawing lakhs of preference entries during the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) choice-filling. Close behind are BA (Hons.) English, along with BA (Hons.) History, Political Science, Economics, and Psychology, which remain the most sought-after arts programmes. B.A. (Hons.) Economics stands out further for offering one of the highest number of confirmed seats across DU colleges.Story continues below this adThe faculty of CVS, in the meeting held on June 26, recorded that the existing vocational programmes are “in consonance with the spirit and objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP), as they are interdisciplinary, skill-oriented, and enhance the employability of students”, and warned that the proposed restructuring could reduce the department’s teaching workload, “resulting in the loss of approximately 8-10 faculty positions”Yet, in a representation submitted to Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on June 29, faculty members allege that the exercise has since expanded far beyond what either the college’s statutory bodies or the university had approvedThey contend that proposals are now being pursued to discontinue six vocational programmes and introduce entirely new B.A. programmes — changes they describe as “completely illegal” as they have not received the approvals required from the university’s statutory authorities and further said: “The employment opportunity in BA (Vocational Studies) Programmes are far better than BA Programme.”However in April, the DU Executive Council, recorded that overall, the colleges will not change the sanctioned total intake capacity of a programme. “A College may, however, offer additional seats in an existing Programme, provided there are adequate faculty members and infrastructural facilities to meet the additional requirements…No new programme will be added and similarly, no existing programme will be discontinued,” it stated.Story continues below this adSpeaking to The Indian Express, DU Director of Admissions, Haneet Gandhi, said the changes were made after assessing students’ demand. “Certain courses have been replaced with other programmes, keeping in mind how many students have been opting for them. The courses that have seen less interest have been replaced, and programme combinations have also been rejigged accordingly. All the replacements have been made keeping in mind the qualifications of the existing faculty members who will be able to teach the new programmes as well. None of these programmes are completely new in DU colleges and bear a new curriculum, these are only new combinations which already have a curriculum in place and are being taught in other DU colleges…the same will be followed by the faculty to teach in classrooms” she said.Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. 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