Concerns grow over DU’s new seat matrix plan

A proposal at Delhi University (DU) to revise the undergraduate seat matrix across colleges has triggered widespread concern among teachers and departments. They fear that Indian languages and minority subjects may face severe downsizing.

In a meeting of college principals, the university administration flagged a high number of vacant seats in various programmes admitted through the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). Following this, the colleges have now been instructed to submit a revised seat matrix by December 8, a deadline faculty members across colleges are calling “unrealistic and undemocratic”.

According to teachers involved in ongoing internal discussions, the short deadline leaves no room for deliberation in Staff Councils. Many see the move as an attempt to bypass mandatory academic bodies, much like the Academic and Executive Councils, which they allege were sidestepped while framing the recommendations.

While the National Education Policy (NEP) stresses flexibility and choice, the faculty argue that DU’s proposal contradicts this promise.

The departments fear that seat reallocation will first target Indian language subjects, especially those offered in small but significant combinations within the BA programme.

Available data shows that many languages such as Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and others continue to be offered in limited, but meaningful structures across colleges, including Deshbandhu College, Kirori Mal College, Dyal Singh College, Miranda House, Sri Venkateswara College and Zakir Husain Delhi College. However, the faculty claim the colleges are already facing pressure to divert these allocations to more “marketable” combinations, potentially eliminating the language options altogether.

“The marginalisation of Indian languages is not just an academic issue, it strikes at the federal and multicultural character of Delhi University and India,” said Abha Dev Habib, Associate Professor, Physics Department, Miranda House.

CUET’s failure to fill seats, a trend visible even in natural science disciplines, should not be used as justification to shrink academic diversity. Instead, they call the move a step toward commercialisation and a shift from public education values.

Teachers warn that if implemented, the plan will damage research pipelines, disrupt small group learning models, and create a long term vacuum of educators and scholars in Indian languages, humanities and social sciences.

“This is not reform, it is erasure,” said another faculty member. “The next generation of researchers, scholars and teachers in Indian languages may never emerge if these decisions are allowed to proceed,” he added.

As colleges prepare to submit the revised matrix, academic bodies and faculty groups are expected to escalate objections in the coming days. Whether the university administration will reconsider the deadline, its approach remains uncertain.