SWAYAM Credits and the Future of Teaching Workload in Delhi University
AADTA strongly opposes DU Notification dated 01.06.2026 providing students to earn up to 5% of their programme credits through SWAYAM and other approved online platforms as per under NEP 2020. However, from the perspective of teachers and the future of public higher education, this development raises serious concerns.
The question before us is not whether technology should be used in education. The real question is: At whose cost will this flexibility be implemented?
In a four-year undergraduate programme, students can now earn up to 8 credits through online platforms. The notification further states that approved online courses may be considered for VACs and SECs. If all 8 credits equivalent to the VAC and SEC courses offered during the first two years are eventually shifted online, what will happen to the teaching workload currently generated by these papers in colleges?
VACs and SECs account for thousands of teaching hours across the University. They contribute significantly to departmental workload calculations and support the need for teaching positions. If students increasingly opt for online alternatives, classroom teaching hours will decline, workload will shrink, and the administration may subsequently argue that fewer teachers are required.
The replacement of classroom teaching by MOOCs and online platforms can become another instrument for reducing faculty strength under the guise of flexibility and efficiency.
Teacher-student interaction, classroom discussion, mentoring, and campus-based learning cannot be replaced by online modules. Higher education is not merely about credit accumulation; it is about intellectual engagement and academic community.