IISc Bangalore in talks with UGC over 4-year course

BANGALORE: The Universities Grants Commission (UGC) may have asked the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, to discontinue its four-year B.Sc course. But the premier science institute seems to be in no mood to oblige, at least without putting up a stiff fight.

IISc director Prof Anurag Kumar told TOI: “We’ve received a letter, that’s no secret. However, we are in talks with senior UGC officials and are trying to explain to them why we conceived this course.” Kumar said with 425 students in four years, the course is running successfully.

The UGC has asked IISc to scrap its four-year undergraduate programme. Reports, quoting Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Smriti Irani’s statement in Lok Sabha said the UGC has sent similar directives to Symbiosis International University, Pune, and Shiv Nadar University, Noida.

Arguing that the course offered by IISc isn’t a typical B.Sc course, Kumar said: “This is research-oriented and we’ve planned it carefully. We are trying to convince the UGC.”

On why UGC wants to scrap the programme, he said: “Right now, we are having a dialogue. It’s too early to commit to anything. We are trying to understand why the commission is taking such a stand, and are also trying to explain what our course is all about and why it should be retained.”