As he waits for his successor to take over, Delhi university's vice-chancellor Deepak Pental bares his mind to mid day.
As he waits for his successor to take over, Delhi university's vice-chancellor Deepak Pental bares his mind to mid day.
The semester system has been hanging fire for a long time now. Your take on this.u00a0
The issue was debated upon for quite a while, but now it has been fixed once and for all. The exam dates have been shifted to the first week of December and we have the date sheet out. We lost two weeks of classes. There has been absenteeism on part of teachers, which is unacceptable. But I feel our commitment levels should never falter, even if we do not agree on certain issues. Semester system is not something out of this world.
It has been a rocky ride for you since You have come under attack by students as well as by the teachers. Your reaction.
I don't think it has been a rocky ride. I think I have sailed smoothly. I don't admit I have come under attack by students. I personally went to a group of students and enquired about their likes and dislikes. The teachers did have some problems with me, but that is normal. Everyone has the freedom of expression, if they don't like my ideas they are free to protest and I am free to put forth my ideas. If teachers are interested in hollow slogans more than productive work, I cannot help.
What would you say have been your successes and failures?
Talking of success, I would say the reform process at the post graduate level has started. The number of scholarships and sports admissions has gone up enormously. Placements have been fantastic. The infrastructure for science labs and research centres has improved substantially. Also, the number of sexual harassment cases has come down. One major success would be that by 2011 all courses in the under-graduate level would fall under the semester system. The university has not seen such important changes in the past 20 years as it has in these five years. As far as failures are concerned, I would say I have just done one-third of the reforms I intended to at the under-graduate level. A good two-thirds is still left. Also, the School of Open Learning needs to be revamped. There should be more skill-based courses and vocational training has to be done practically on the site. That remains to be done; I agree my heart was not into it.
Has your approach been different?
Though, a lot more still remains to be done, I have no regrets.
How do you want your successor to carry forward your good work?
Every individual has his own way of doing things. The remaining two-thirds at the undergraduate level must be completed. I was not clever and smart enough to carry everyone together. I hope my successor is smart enough.
Are you on any social networking site?
No. I just carry a simpleu00a0 mobile phone. I never send SMSes.
your choice of music
Indian classical, rock and pop. In my younger days I was a fan of Eagles.u00a0
Your favourite film
There are many, but I loved the Blade Runner. Also, Peepli Live was good.
And your favourite female actor
None in particular but I liked Vidya Balan in Ishqiya. It was a marvellous piece of acting. She was too good.
Your first crush
I was too shy when I was young. I never talked to girls at that time.
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