Semester Away Programme: The University of Delhi’s Executive Council (EC) has cleared a Semester Away Programme (SAP) that will let undergraduate students spend one semester at a foreign higher education institution, with credits earned abroad counted toward their DU degree. The decision was taken at the 1,283rd meeting of the Executive Council on 30 July 2026, chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Yogesh Singh.
What the New Semester Away Programme Offers
The Semester Away Programme scheme has been introduced under the Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF)-2022 in collaboration with partner institutions overseas. Students who opt in will be able to complete one semester at a foreign university and have those credits recognised toward their Delhi University degree, subject to academic equivalence norms. The Delhi University Executive Council’s move is aimed at giving DU students global exposure and interdisciplinary learning opportunities without extending their overall degree timeline.
Other Key Decisions at the EC Meeting
Alongside the international mobility scheme, the Executive Council cleared several other measures:
- Pay protection for teachers who were appointed temporarily through due recruitment procedures before securing permanent positions, applicable to eligible appointments made from 1 April 2022 onward.
- Approval for the School of Open Learning (SOL) to launch one-year postgraduate programmes across five subjects, cumulatively offering 1,500 seats — 200 in M.A. Hindi, 150 in M.A. History, 500 in M.A. Political Science, 75 in M.A. Sanskrit, and 575 in M.Com.
- A new Group Insurance Scheme offering employees, including contractual staff, life cover of Rs 20 lakh through a master policy, with a monthly premium of Rs 500 plus GST.
- Approval of the university’s annual accounts, along with those of its halls, hostels, Provident Fund, and National Pension Scheme for financial year 2025-26.
VC Singh Reaffirms Global Ranking Ambitions
During the meeting, Vice-Chancellor Prof Yogesh Singh clarified that there is no proposal to cut contractual non-teaching staff, addressing concerns raised during discussions. He also highlighted DU’s climb in the QS World University Rankings 2027, where the university now stands at 322nd position globally, up from the 521-530 band in 2022 — a jump of 199 places in four years. Singh credited teachers, students, officers, and employees for the improvement and reiterated DU’s ambition to break into the world’s top 200 universities within five years.
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