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Admissions 2017

Students complain of several lapses in procedures before the entrance exams

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Thousands of students appeared for the entrance of some of the undergraduate courses which were conducted the University of Delhi. However, some faced various difficulties at various stages of the application process. Students faced various problems related to application fee payment which did not reflect in the portal, furthermore trouble loading the admit cards and missing dates of the entrance exam were among other challenges. Hence,  many applicants were seen at the undergraduate admissions help desk and at the grievance cell on Saturday, complaining that they have been facing difficulties with the procedures.

One of the aspirants Tanya Malik, a B.El.Ed applicant who had paid her application fees for the entrance based courses said she was unsure if she would be able to take the test. Talking to national daily she said,  “I have been trying to contact the university for more than three days now. I have emailed them, and even tried calling. They usually tell you to wait for a reply to the email when you call them, but my entrance test is on Sunday and I can’t view or download my admit card.”  “All issues related to admit cards have been resolved,” said Ashutosh Bhardwaj, OSD admissions at DU after the grievances were filed in the cell.

“All issues related to admit cards have been resolved,” said Ashutosh Bhardwaj, OSD admissions at DU after the grievances were filed in the cell.

Several students also complained that ‘complete’ information is not available anywhere. Students who applied for the entrance exam of B.A. (H) Music need to visit the Music department’s website to view the schedule of entrance exams because the dates were missing in the exam portal. Delhi University is going to conduct a practical admission test at the Department of Music for B.A. (H) Music applicants which will be held on July 4 and 5.

 

Radhika Boruah
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Admissions 2017

The Great College Debate: ECA & Sports Quota Vs. General Admission

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All the colleges under the University of Delhi have at least 5% seats reserved for students who wish to take admission through the extracurricular activities (ECA) and sports quota. The ECA quota in DU includes eleven categories of activities: dance, vocal, instrumental, theatre, creative writing, debating, fine arts, digital media, quiz, NCC, and NSS. The applicants are judged by an ECA admission committee constituting at least two experts. Under the DU sports quota, candidates can secure admission at Delhi University colleges in two ways – direct admission without sports trials or admission with sports trials. All candidates who have represented India in any international sports competitions like the Olympic Games, World Cup, etc. are eligible to secure admission at DU without undergoing the sports trials. The benefit of the ECA and sports quota is that it aids you with gauging chances of getting enrolled in top colleges even if you have a percentage lower than the cut-off. If you are passionate about any ECA field or sports, it is guaranteed that it will be nurtured at the college level after you join the respective societies. There is direct entry into the society, without any auditions, if you get through the respective ECA quota.

On the downside though, students have to miss their classes and go for long practices during inter-college fests and sports meets. While attendance for the missed classes is provided by the college for the quota students, important work is missed out on, which may impact the understanding of the subject.

For general admissions, students have to follow the cut-off lists and take admissions wherever their percentage equals the cut-off percentage. This goes on from the first to the last cut-off list and students withdraw from one college to another, or swap courses. The general admission requires higher percentage vis à vis ECA and sports quota as there is no rebate on the marks obtained. Getting admission through the general category gives one the option to choose any society or team or to even not get involved in co-curriculars, whereas getting admission through ECA or sports requires determination and dedication towards the chosen field. Each side has its pros and cons but both admission processes require substantial patience.

 

Feature Image Credits: Alex Arthur for DU Beat

Radhika Boruah
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Campus Central

Delhi University to start a new course on ‘Yoga and Meditation’

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Delhi University is all set to start a new certificate course on ‘Yoga and Meditation’ from this year onwards. The course which would begin as a part time course would be a three-month long course. Alternatively, the course can also be done for hundred hours.

The course which all set to begin from the 1st of July has invited applications by floating the application form online. The form for the course can be found here.  The form for the course needs to be submitted at Gandhi Bhawan on or before 29th June, 2017.

The course will be taught for four days every week namely Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The time for the classes would be from 3PM to 5pm on each of these days. For any further regarding the course, aspirants can contact Gandhi Bhavan office which is located at 32, Chhatra Marg, University of Delhi, Delhi-7. They can also mail their queries regarding the course to [email protected].

Gandhi Bhawan is working as an institute under the University of Delhi, dedicated to the study of the words of Mohandas K. Gandhi. The centre has organised several initiatives to propagate the ideas of Gandhian values and practises.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

Radhika Boruah

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Admissions 2017

For these four vocational courses, Maths is compulsory

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There are seven vocational courses offered by the University of Delhi out of which for four of the courses, Mathematics has been made a compulsory subject: printing technology, web-designing, software development and banking operations. From this year, students opting for vocational courses in DU will have to include Mathematics in their best of four percentages. Hence, for calculating the best of four percentages, mathematics will have to be included along with one language and two other elective subjects. However, it is not compulsory to include the subject for B.Voc healthcare management, retail management and information technology. Some of the regular courses where it is a compulsory subject are Economics (Hons), B.Com (Hons) and Computer Science (Hons), among others.

Started in 2016, B.Voc programmes have been designed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as per the National Skill Qualification Framework of the Ministry of Skill Development, emphasising on skill-based education in consultation with the National Skills Development Corporation.

It has multiple entry and exit points, except that the programme is like any other regular course. Students have the option to leave after the second and fourth semester and will be awarded a diploma or an advanced diploma accordingly.

Vocational subjects will be treated as academic subjects for those opting for the programme. Students who have passed related vocational subjects and wish to include them in the best of four will get two per cent advantage. An additional advantage of one per cent is given if a candidate has studied more than one related vocational subject, included in the best of four calculation.

For other courses, inclusion of vocational subject in the best of four will lead to a 2.5 per cent deduction in percentage. Officials said that in the academic council meeting, to be held on June 20, teachers will discuss the UGC letter which states that the “B.Voc degree should be considered equivalent to other degrees”. The letter also states that the “degree be considered for competitive exams and allow students trans-discipline vertical mobility”.

Colleges offering B.Voc courses are Jesus and Mary College, Kalindi College, College of Vocational Studies and Ramanujan College. Admissions to these courses are done on the basis of cut-offs released by the colleges. The colleges have 350 seats.

Image Credits: DU Beat

Radhika Boruah

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Admissions 2017

School of Journalism to be started under DU

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The University of Delhi’s standing committee on academic affairs approved proposals to start the Journalism School, another School of Transnational Affairs and a postgraduate diploma in Cyber Law and Security. The proposals will now be placed at the Academic Council for final approval.

Admissions for the Delhi School of Journalism start from this year and will proceed on the basis of cut-offs like the other courses. Thirty students will be admitted this year. The five-year integrated degree will have the option to exit after three years with an undergraduate degree in journalism. Some papers will be on data journalism, investigative journalism, foreign languages, and regional languages. The process for applying for the undergraduate course is the same as for other courses. Applicants have to fill the centralised registration form and opt for the course. Admissions will be based on cut-offs. B.A. (Hons) Journalism, a popular course at Delhi University, has already received 45,000 applications from the online form.

The chairperson of the standing committee, Savita Datta, said “Students will be taught discipline-specific and elective courses. There will be a paper on data and investigative journalism along with papers on media and psychology, media and history, editing, writing, and documentary making,” while talking about the structure and syllabus for the five-year integrated journalism programme.

Here, students will have to study two compulsory languages, which will help them report from different regions. There will be four foreign language options – Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and French. There will be two regional languages as well – Tamil and Bengali. Students will have to learn one foreign and one regional language. The journalism students will learn to read, write, and comprehend the language.

The Journalism School may adopt an entrance-based admissions process from next year. The initial plan was to admit students based on an entrance test, which failed to be feasible this year. Six colleges in Delhi University currently offer journalism at the undergraduate level – Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Kalindi College, Kamala Nehru College, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Maharaja Agrasen College, and the Institute of Home Economics.

 

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

Radhika Boruah
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Faculty of Law

Delhi High Court hears plea to stop the reduction of Delhi University’s LLB seats

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On May 31st, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Centre, the University of Delhi (DU), and the Bar Council of India (BCI), seeking direction not to reduce the LLB seats in the University. The current intake of students is 2,310. Thus, the Delhi High Court asked the BCI to consider DU’s representation for increasing the seats in its LLB course and to take a decision by the evening of June 6th.

DU had sought permission to increase its seats for the law course, claiming it had improved its infrastructure and increased the strength of its teaching faculty. The Bench observed that the BCI had not capped the seats due to the lack of infrastructure, and therefore its improvement wouldn’t entitle DU to seek an increase in seats offered for the course. It, however, allowed DU to advertise for only 1,440 seats for its law course, like last year and said it would be subjected to the outcome of a plea seeking an increase of seats to 2,310. The order came during a hearing of a petition by lawyer Joginder Kumar Sukhija, who claimed that many students, especially graduates, would be affected if the seats were reduced. The petition added that by reducing the number of seats, the public money, which is used to provide a grant to DU, was not being put to optimal use.

Last year, the DU students protested after reports surfaced on the suggestion by the BCI to trim down the number of seats for admission to the 2016-17 batches for LLB seats at the three law centers. Since 2014, the Law Faculty has been in trouble with the BCI for not following the council’s rules regarding infrastructure support and student intake.

The PIL sought a direction to strike down the clause 5 A of Schedule-III of Rules of Legal Education 2008 enacted by the BCI, claiming it was capricious and in blatant violation of fundamental rights. Under Rule 5 A, a law college can admit only 300 students each year. As the varsity has three law centers, it can have a total of 900 seats only. But, as an exception, BCI has allowed the varsity to admit additional 180 seats per center for reserved categories, the lawyers’ body told the court. Hence, the law aspirants are hoping for an increase in the number of seats in DU. After all, 2000 students should be accommodated if adequate infrastructure is made available to those aspiring to enroll in the varsity.

 

Feature Image Credits: Bar & Bench

 

Radhika Boruah

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Admissions 2017

Delhi University to provide free coaching for students of weaker sections for PG programs

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Amidst all the admission hustle, University of Delhi(DU) has released the news of the programme of preparatory classes for the students of the economically weaker sections. With this second consecutive year of the program, it seems like the University is giving all attentions to  the academic empowerment of students from all backgrounds. In this program, free classes will be held for the students who wish to apply for the entrance examinations for post-graduate courses in DU.

Coaching will be provided in English, Law, Mathematics, Physics and Zoology. Application forms will be accepted outside SGTB Khalsa College between Wednesday May 31 to Monday June 5 from 02:00 pm to 05:00 pm (Sunday Closed).  A fee of Rs. 100 will be charged for registration. The duration of the classes will be about two weeks. The list of the selected candidates will be out on June 6. As seats are limited, admission will be on the first come, first serve basis.

Applications are for Pre-Entrance Summer School 2017, for postgraduate admission tests for Economically Weaker Section (EWS/BPL,) SC, ST, OBC (Non-Creamy Layer), Minorities, PwD (EWS/BPL only). The candidates will be provisionally admitted to the ‘DU Pre-Entrance Summer School 2017’  till they complete the application procedure by applying online for the PG Entrance Examination at University of Delhi website, www.du.ac.in. Application Form for ‘DU Pre-Entrance summer School 2017’ may be downloaded from the same website. Tentative dates of start of the classes: 07.06.2017 for English and Law and 09.06.2017 for Mathematics, Physics and Zoology. The Pre-Entrance classes for all the disciplines will be held in the DU North Campus. And the time & venues will be notified in due course.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

Radhika Boruah

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Admissions 2017

DU School of Open Learning admissions to begin from June 1st

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Within alternate modes of education, the University of Delhi offers ten different courses from the School of Open Learning for graduation and post-graduation. SOL will start the online admissions procedure for five undergraduate courses from 1st June for the session 2017-18.  Admissions open from July for undergraduate courses and from August for postgraduate courses. The undergraduate degrees include B.A. (Prog.), B.A. Political Science (Hons.), B.A. English (Hons.), B.Com (Hons.), and B.Com (Prog.). Students are required to make an application for admission to the courses offered by the School in the prescribed Enrolment-Cum-Admission form. The application form will be available on its website along with the prospectus. While the last date for application is July 31st, students can apply after paying a penalty fee of Rs. 100 till August 31st and Rs. 200 till September 15th.

The fees at SOL for students residing in India is lower than other colleges in the varsity offering regular courses. The minimal payment structure ensures that students from all financial backgrounds get a chance to pursue higher studies in the course of their choice. The annual fees for general category students enrolling for B.A. (Prog.) is Rs. 3430, Rs. 3530 for B.A. (Hons.) English and B.Com (Prog.), Rs. 3630 for B.A. (Hons.) Political Science, and Rs. 3830 for B.Com (Hons.). The fees are lower for reserved categories. H.C. Pokhriyal, Executive Director of SOL, said approximately 1.4 lakh students had enrolled in the five undergraduate courses last year.

The institute offers video lectures and access to the library, both online and offline. Most of the study materials can be accessed on its website. SOL does not have a cut-off list like regular colleges and the eligibility criterion for students is lower. The highest eligibility criterion in 2016 was for B.A. (Hons.) English at 65% aggregate, with at least 75% in English Core or 65% in English Elective or Functional English. The eligibility for the rest of the courses was 60% or below. The new prospectus will carry all the details regarding eligibility and guidelines for the admission process.

Eligibility Criteria for University of Delhi Correspondence Courses 2017

1) B.A. (Prog.) & B.Com (Prog.)

  • Minimum Eligibility Criteria: Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (Class XII) of the Central Board of Secondary Education, or an examination recognised as equivalent thereto, or Pre-University Examination of an Indian university recognised by the University of Delhi, or Intermediate Examination of an Indian university board, or an examination recognised as equivalent thereto.
  • Specific Requirements: Passed with 40% or above in any of the examinations.

2) B.A. (Hons.) English

  • Minimum Eligibility Criteria: At least 60% marks in aggregate in the Senior School Certificate Examination, conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi, or an examination recognised as equivalent to the above.
  • Specific Requirements: Candidates securing 70% marks in the English Core Language in Class XII and 60% in aggregate will be eligible for direct admission, or candidates securing 60% marks in English Elective and 60% in aggregate will be eligible for direct admission.

3) B.A (Hons.) Political Science

  • Minimum Eligibility Criteria: At least 45% in the aggregate with Political Science in any of the examinations recognised by the University of Delhi.
  • Specific Requirements: Candidates securing 60% marks in the aggregate without Political Science in Class XII will be eligible for direct admission in Political Science (Honours) first year.
  • Candidates securing 45% in aggregate with Political Science as one of their subjects will be eligible for direct admission.

4) B.Com (Hons.)

  • Minimum Eligibility Criteria: 55% Aggregate, or 60% Aggregate of the vocational/technical stream with commerce.
  • Specific Requirements: The number of seats in Business Data Processing (Subsidiary) for B.Com (Hons.) is limited and admission will be on the basis of merit.

5) B.Com (Hons.) Optional Computer – Paper VI C

  • Practical Paper VI C: Option will be given on the basis of merit. This paper may or may not be allowed without practical.

Note:

  • SC/ST – Minimum passing marks in any one of the qualifying examinations
  • OBC – 10% of minimum eligibility marks prescribed for the general category students
  • PwD – 5% relaxation in minimum eligibility marks prescribed for the general category students

 

Feature Image Credits: School of Open Learning, University of Delhi

Radhika Boruah
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