ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY
The University of Delhi was established in 1922 as a
unitary, teaching and residential university by an Act of
the then Central Legislative Assembly. The three colleges:
St. Stephen's founded in 1881, Hindu in 1899 and Ramjas in
1917 were affiliated to the University, which therefore
had a modest beginning with just three Colleges, two
Faculties (Arts and Science) and about 750 students. The
Indraprastha College for Women was established in 1927. An
important step was taken in 1933 when the old Vice Regal
Lodge with its extensive gardens was made the Campus of
the University. Till today this site remains the nucleus
of the University - its Main Campus. The old residence of
the Viceroy has recently been declared a heritage site and
restored to its former glory. In 1943 the University was
given a federal structure with the colleges as its
constituent units. Nowadays, most undergraduate teaching
is done in its colleges, while the University organises
postgraduate teaching and research in its departments.
Sir Maurice Gwyer, the longest serving
of its Vice Chancellors, envisioned the University as a
cluster of colleges with the departments as its core. It
is in this context that Miranda House was established as a
residential college for women and the first woman's
college to offer science courses. Asa part of this vision,
in addition to the three existing colleges, Shri Ram
College of Commerce, Hans Raj College, Kirori Mai College,
Daulat Ram College, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College
and at a short distance, Indraprastha College for Women
were established. All these now form part of what is known
as the North Campus.
As areas of South Delhi started
developing, many new colleges were set up to meet the
growing needs of the metropolis. These were established as
affiliating colleges of the University by various
Societies, Trusts and also by the Delhi Government. In
1983, the Sherubtse College in Bhutan was affiliated to
the University by a special Act of Parliament.
There has been a considerable increase
in student enrolment in recent years. The number of
students in the 78 colleges, 4 recognised institutions, 84
postgraduate departments and 11 recognised hospitals
(including students in the non-formal streams) was
approximately 320,000 in 2003 as compared to 26,000 in
1962 -when the Correspondence courses were first started.
In an effort to cope with this enormous expansion, while
continuing to maintain its high academic standards, the
University in the early 1970s initiated a new
organisational pattern based on the multi-campus concept.
The South Campus made a beginning in 1973 by starting
postgraduate programmes in some departments of the
Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences in a rented
building. It was allotted land near Dhaula Kuan and
offices and teaching activities shifted to this campus in
1983. The South Campus has now become the focus of
interdisciplinary studies particularly in the Life
Sciences. The recently established Campus of Open Learning
is a virtual campus catering to students enrolled in the
distance mode and steps are likely to be initiated soon to
set up campuses in East and West Delhi.
The Main (North) Campus with its forty postgraduate
departments concentrates on basic disciplines such as
Arts, Sciences, Social Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and
others like Law, Music, Education, Languages, Management,
and Distance Education. It is situated in the northern
part of the city in a picturesque site adjoining the
Ridge. Some of the administrative offices of the
University are housed in the old Vice Regal Lodge.
The South Campus is organized into nine
departments that offer teaching and research programmes
with an inter-disciplinary and applied orientation in
areas such as Biochemistry, Biophysics, Biotechnology,
Electronic Sciences, Financial and Public Systems
Management, Genetics, Information Technology and Plant
Molecular Biology.
The East Campus is being developed with
the University College of Medical Sciences as its nucleus,
while the West Campus will focus on Engineering and
Technology.
The University of Delhi has a unique
relationship with its colleges. They enjoy a fair degree
of autonomy in their day-to-day functioning and
management. However, there is a uniformity that binds the
colleges together in matters of academic and
administrative policy under the supervision of the
statutory bodies of the University such as the Academic
and the Executive Councils. This is especially true of
curricula and examinations, which are implemented and
conducted by the University. The colleges of the
University are unique in so far as they are a vital part
of the larger entity, which provides for healthy exchange
and interaction amongst their teachers and students.
Like the seasons, the University also has a rhythm and a
pace. The summer months of June and July see the hum of
admission activity as thousands of students throng the
corridors of its colleges seeking admission. Soon this
changes to the steady pace of academic work. The onset of
winter sees the colleges humming with debates, drama
festivals, rock shows and a general air of festivity. As
winter reaches its height and the season starts to change,
a sombre mood descends as students get down to the serious
task of studying for the examinations, which arrive with
unfailing regularity in April and continue till June.