RutSum

DCE Becomes DTU – What Does It Mean Exactly?

So now that everybody has heard, a bill was passed by the Delhi Legislative Assembly to upgrade DCE (Delhi College of Engineering) to DTU (Delhi Technological University). This means that DCE would no longer be under the administration of DU (University of Delhi), instead, it would be a self-governed university.

What does this mean, or, what impact would it have on current/prospective students?

Before I go ahead and answer that question, I have to mention here that none of these are solid facts backed by proof, but only speculation or stuff I’ve heard from people around me, current DCEites, seniors, or read online.

• DCE will be getting 240 new seats in the bachelors program this year, and possibly even a few new branches to choose from (software, aerospace, automotive, electronics and electrical, engineering physics, medical engineering and nuclear science and engineering are the ones I have heard about).
• DCE will finally be able to upgrade syllabus for various branches on its own without having to beg DU/the Delhi Government to look into it. I doubt this one seriously. How will the management committee of DTU be any different from the people at DU/Delhi government? They will also be the same sarkari babus. If the syllabus had to be upgraded, it would’ve been done by now by DU. I have a feeling that people seriously believe that conventional syllabus is good for preparing students to face challenges in the industry. Either that, or the syllabus hasn’t been upgraded till now because people used the government’s involvement in the process as an excuse to be lazy.
• New, and more qualified permanent faculty will be recruited. Earlier, all the faculty recruitment was done by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), going through which was usually a lengthy and tiring process. So if we need Computer/IT faculty right now, we’ll get it 10 years later. By eliminating UPSC as the middleman, we will now have our own faculty recruitment department, and therefore will get new, qualified faculty faster. That is if there is any available.
• The fee will now be increased, and will be regulated by DTU. This one seems most likely, because if new and competent faculty has to be recruited, and the infrastructure be improved, the money has to come from the students. Delhi govt. is removing its hands from DCE, that also means financial independence, I guess.
• The degree that new students will receive will be from DTU, and not from DU, as previously. People going abroad for masters will probably be affected by this, because DU is a reputed and recognised university even outside India, while DTU will now take a little time in achieving a similar ‘name’ for itself. This is also the reason why the teachers/staff of DCE are planning to organise a strike. Current students will receive a degree from DU.
• Now the DTU is a state university, new colleges will be opened under it and admission to those colleges would be through the CEE conducted by DTU. Also, some existing colleges may ask for affiliation from DTU, and get a decent crowd through CEE too.
• Someone out there also said that we’ll now have regular classes, and attendance rules would be followed strictly. The reason stated is reduction of the number of people who can influence these things, and therefore a decrease in corruption. I have no idea if this is good news or bad .

Some FAQs have been put up recently at dce.edu, which you can check out here. If you’re unable to access that URL, don’t blame me, blame the DWD at DCE. They have been a big FAIL with the new website. It does look better than dce.ac.in, but the promises they made to make it a social hub for the college have so far shown no fruit. And the site remains down, a lot, and is already full of broken links.

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