No teachers in 3 subjects, Gurugram Unversity BTech students now rely on YouTube

GURGAON: Built to widen higher education options in the city and offer students an alternative to Delhi University closer home, Gurugram University is now facing questions over a basic academic failure — teaching.With BTech fourth-semester examinations due to begin on May 12, computer science students have been left to prepare for core engineering papers through YouTube videos and online tutorials because, they alleged, no classes were held for key subjects.Students said the semester began in Jan, but signals and systems, microprocessors and microcontrollers, and information theory and coding remained untaught subjects. As a result, nearly 200 students are now headed towards final exams without formal classroom instruction in these technical papers.“Now that the datesheet is out and exams are scheduled from May 12, we are being told to study from YouTube or other online sources. It’s impossible to finish an entire semester’s technical syllabus in a few days,” a student told TOI, requesting not to be identified.Another student said, “We have six subjects this semester. In one, there is no teacher at all, and two other subjects are linked to other classes where, too, teachers are unavailable. So, in three out of six subjects, no one is teaching us. Our seniors faced the same issue, but it was never resolved. First-year students are not facing this, but second-year students are.”They said complaints were already raised with dean SS Tyagi and another professor, Sumit Chaudhary, but no lasting solution followed. The students claimed they were told those studying engineering should be able to “manage” on their own and that the syllabus might be covered in two or three “emergency classes”.The university, however, rejected the allegations. A spokesperson called the students’ claims “false and misleading” and said the academic schedule had been followed. According to the university representative, one regular faculty member was unable to teach because of severe typhoid, and that a new teacher, Sumit, had now been appointed to complete the remaining syllabus.“No examinations will be held until the curriculum is thoroughly covered,” the spokesperson said, adding that students should raise concerns through proper internal channels.