Delhi University’s First NEP Batch in Limbo as 4,000 Four-Year Graduates Miss Out on One-Year Master’s Seats

Delhi University’s first batch of students under the four-year undergraduate structure of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was promised a faster route to a postgraduate degree: four years of study followed by a one-year master’s. For an estimated 4,000 of them, that route has stalled. They finished the fourth year, applied for the one-year PG programme and did not get a regular seat, effectively losing the 2026-27 academic year while the matter sits before the Delhi High Court, as reported by The Indian Express.

Demand far outran the seats

DU adopted the NEP-based Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) in 2022, when about 2.5 lakh candidates applied for roughly 72,600 seats. According to Dean of Admissions Prof. Haneet Gandhi, around 23,000 students from that batch went on to the fourth year in 2025, while the rest exited with a three-year degree.

Roughly 14,000 of the four-year graduates then applied for the one-year PG programme. The university has only about 3,000 seats for it, including School of Open Learning (SOL) seats. About 1,800 students have been admitted to the regular course, and close to 4,000 have been taken in through SOL. Students who have gone to court say that still leaves 4,000 to 5,000 applicants who wanted a regular one-year master’s without a place. Prof. Gandhi said the university had not expected so many students to stay on in academics, calling it a welcome change.

Priority rules at the centre of the dispute

DU’s 2026-27 admission policy for the one-year PG course ranks applicants using Programme-Specific Eligibility levels. Graduates of a four-year Honours degree with Research or Entrepreneurship in the relevant subject sit in the first priority group (P1), ahead of those with a four-year programme degree and a Major in that subject (P2). This means a multidisciplinary graduate with a higher CGPA can be considered only after a single-discipline Honours graduate with a lower score.

Students argue that the priority system and the use of CGPA, which varies from college to college, were not made clear when they chose to stay on for the fourth year rather than exit after three years and take CUET-PG. DU maintains that the eligibility resolution and seat matrix were published months before admissions began, and its Grievance Redressal Committee, in a 9 September order, upheld the priority system, citing a difference in academic rigour between single-discipline and multidisciplinary programmes.

A court case and a PhD workaround

Around 100 petitioners have challenged the criteria in the Delhi High Court. The court has asked for an equitable proposal that can accommodate more students without disturbing the roughly 2,500 already admitted, with the matter listed for hearing on 27 October 2026. DU had also set up a six-member committee under Dean of Academic Affairs Prof. K. Ratnabali to review seats and the admission policy.

To widen options, the university has introduced direct entry to PhD programmes for four-year undergraduates, without NET as a prerequisite but subject to an entrance test. The number of seats will depend on the applications received.

Why it matters for NEP implementation

The four-year degree with a one-year master’s is one of the most visible structural changes of NEP 2020, and DU is among the largest universities to roll it out. Faculty members quoted in the report warn that the experience could discourage future batches from opting for the fourth year or for multidisciplinary Majors; the Delhi University Principals’ Association has already noted that only about 30 per cent of students chose the fourth year in 2025-26.

For universities across the country moving to the four-year framework, the DU case is a reminder that the promise of flexible pathways depends on planning postgraduate capacity, publishing transfer and eligibility rules early, and communicating them clearly to students before they make their choices.