With just around 20 odd days left for undergraduate semester exams to start, a new upload of the economics (H) syllabus for the semester I and II on October 31 on the Delhi University website created confusion and apprehension among teachers and students alike.

The new syllabus available on the DU website, which is effective for academic year 2011-12, has topics which were earlier not part of the courses taught in the current academic session.

As per the syllabus prepared by the department of economics, the first and second semesters comprised four papers each. "The university has uploaded a new syllabus saying it is valid from the current academic year which effectively means from the present semester. But surprisingly there are subjects like sampling and integration which were earlier not there in the first semester. The students have not been taught these topics. Moreover, the same topics, which were earlier in the second semester, are now not there which raises the question that will the students not be taught these topics at all? As a teacher I am feeling dejected as even our academic arguments are being overlooked," said Nandini Dutta, a faculty of economics department at Miranda House.

The academic council approved the first semester syllabus at a meeting held on June 7. It was also decided that the rest of the syllabus had to be completed by September. But at the last academic council meeting in October, only the second semester syllabus was approved.

The new syllabus has also left the students confused. "Will we be made to sit for an exam based on a syllabus we were not taught? This is frightening," said Ananya Dutta (name changed) of Daulat Ram College.

But dispelling the misgivings of the students, Sanjeev Grewal a teacher of St Stephen's College said that although the new syllabus has new components not taught in the first semester, those portions will not be there in the question papers and the new topics will be taught in subsequent semesters.

"There is a meeting of the department later this month where this will be discussed. I was part of many meetings and for sure the department will not test students based on topics not taught. Also, the topics which are there in the first semester, but have not been taught will be taken up in the second semester. The students should not be confused over this and concentrate on the exams," said Grewal.

Source: TOI