Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak, Author at DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

ECA Profile: Quiz

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 22, 2018

Our Indian education system’s school boards can be as temperamental as Simon Cowell’s manner of judging contestants at the X Factor: Whimsical and capricious. Acknowledging this anomaly, the University of Delhi (DU) allows scope for admission through the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) quota.

In which year did the Battle of Lepanto take place? Who was the first black footballer to play for England at any level? What is autarky? Who discovered the element polonium? Which actor was dubbed the Man of a Thousand Faces? Which tempo in music is slower – andante or adagio? If you wish to fight your way to the top of the ECA merit list for Quiz, you would need to know the answers to the aforementioned questions and much more.

In a phone call conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, Varun S., an ECA candidate who was admitted to DU through the ECA quota in 2015 said, “The ECA trials can be described as nerve-racking and competitive, to say the least.”

PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE

Rishabh Bora, who had appeared for the Quiz trials in 2017, claimed that he “completely unprepared” for the prelims of the ECA trials. In spite of that, when he found his name in the merit list of candidates shortlisted for the finals, he was ecstatic. Almost a year later, he recalls, “One of the questions asked in the prelims was: “Which US spy ship was captured by North Korea in 1968?” In an instant, I remembered flicking through an article in Reader’s Digest when I was a kid. It was about the USS Pueblo. That journey back to my childhood took place in a quarter of a second. And after that quarter had ended, I found myself back in the room with a dozen other quizzes. I remember the expression of wonder on the face of the quiz-master when I gave the answer. At that moment, I knew I had made it.”

COMMON ECA GUIDELINES

1. Trials will be held at two levels: (i) Preliminary trials (ii) Final trials
2. The trials of both these levels shall be the conducted by an ECA Committee appointed by the University Admission Committee.
3. “Candidates will get a relaxation of only up to 15% in cut-offs if they apply for the ECA quota,” says Suchitra Gupta, Deputy Dean of Culture and Youth Affairs in DU.
This implies that not more than 15% relaxation in academic merit vis-à-vis unreserved category applicants (for the last relevant cut-off) may be given for admission to specific programmes. In simpler terms, if the cut-off for a particular course is 90%, then the ECA candidate will get a relaxation of upto 15%. This means, to be eligible for admission to a course whose last relevant cut-off was 90%, the candidate must have scored at least 75% in his qualifying examination.

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR QUIZ

1. In both preliminary and final rounds, questions are usually asked on topics such as history, sports, current affairs, arts, popular culture, business, science, literature, and politics.
2. The preliminary round may either consist of a written round or a verbal question and answer round. In case of the former, three kinds of questions are generally asked- (a) Multiple-choice questions (b) Generic questions (c) True/False statements
3. Late entry would lead to penalisation of the candidate.
4. The University ECA Admissions Committee is usually very strict with mobile phones not being allowed into the premises, and bags are also thoroughly checked.
5. Candidates are supposed to carry a writing board and a blue or a black pen.

SOME TIPS TO ACE THE ECA TRIALS FOR CATEGORY ‘QUIZ’

As told to the DU Beat correspondent by Anukul Mishra, an ECA candidate of 2016, a fair number of questions come from the magazine ‘Competition Success Review’, especially the objective-type questions given on the last pages.
Many of the questions are also derived from the archives of the Bournvita Quiz and Samvidhan Quiz of the preceding years.
Read. Record. Recollect: These are the famous 3Rs of quizzing as laid down by Neil O’Brien. One has to read, whether on the iPad, smartphone, or the good old newspapers, magazines, books, and journals.
Take reference from the online resources available on the ‘Quiz Zone’ and Trivia.fyi. Many of the questions found in these sites overlap with the questions asked in the ECA trials.

THE TRIALS

1. The preliminary round for Quiz will be held on the 20th and 21st of June 2018, from 9 a.m., at Ram Lal Anand College. The preliminary rounds usually get over by 11:30 a.m. on the same day.
2. Following the prelims, the list of short-listed candidates for the final round will be notified on the university website. Final round will be held on 30th June.
3. In the final round, the applicants must carry all the relevant certificates in original (and a self-attested photocopy) for evaluation. The certificates will account for 25% of the total weight while the trials in the final round will account for 75% of the weightage.

OBLIGATIONS AND COLLEGE SOCIETIES

1. The selected candidates will have to submit an Undertaking at the time of admission stating that the candidate will perform for the College for the entire period of the candidate‘s undergraduate programme of study. The college has a right to cancel their admissions if they violate the undertaking during their stay in college.
2. The candidates who are admitted through the Instrumental Category mostly get incorporated into the Quiz Societies of the colleges.
3. Candidates who secure admission through Category ‘Quiz’ in DU are almost always under immense pressure of performing well as their competitors come from a wide range of people, not confined to a particular age group. In other words, most quizzes held in the Delhi-NCR region receive participants from the age group of 17 to 71.
Feature Image Credits: The Spectator
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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Allegations of Mismanagement and Cheating Mar DU LLB and B. Ed Entrance Exams

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 22, 2018

The B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) and LLB (Bachelor of Law) entrance examinations of the University of Delhi (DU) have come under condemnation as allegations of blatant cheating and maladministration of the examinations have been flagged.

The invigilators of the LLB examination, held on the 18th of June 2018, were allegedly lax in their invigilation, thereby giving liberty to the candidates to cheat. On the other hand, candidates who had appeared for the entrance exam for B. Ed on the same date claimed that the servers at the Ojas Institute of Management, the exam center in Rohini, had crashed.

As told by a DU graduate Ishan Patel, while the exam was slated to begin at 4 p.m. and end by 6 p.m., most candidates did not submit their papers until 8 p.m. This was seen as unfair to the candidates who had appeared for the same examination from other centers and had thus received relatively lesser time. However, these allegations were dismissed by an official at the institute who asserted, “There was no such problem at our end. It was a minor issue which was later resolved.”

Regarding these claims of mismanagement, complaints have been made to the DU administration by the General Secretary of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Mahamedhaa Nagar.

In conversation with DU Beat, Mahamedhaa remarked, “I know of many candidates whose relatives were owners or shareholders of the institutes where the entrances were held. This offered favorable circumstances for candidates to indulge in illicit activities. I have also been informed of cases wherein the servers had stopped working and the candidates received only 45 minutes to write their papers. And when these students complained, they were told Tu Itna Intelligent Hota Toh 45 Minutes Mein Hi Kar Leta. (If you were intelligent enough, then you would have been able to complete the paper within 45 minutes itself.”

In the phone call conversation, Nagar added, “I do acknowledge that even when entrances are conducted in the university’s colleges, certain candidates manage to get the papers leaked. But then, those have been rare cases wherein the miscreants needed enormous resources and a lot of contacts. But now, when entrance exam centers are allotted to private institutes, the candidates are able to ‘buy’ the invigilators in just INR 10,000.”

Complaints of maladministration of the examination were also reported from the Babu Banarsi Das Institute of Technology in Ghaziabad. Ankit, a former student of Science at DU, had reached the center early to avoid any mishaps. However, the exam was delayed by almost an hour.

Expressing concern regarding the state of affairs, Midrash Mathew, the National Spokesperson of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), told the DU Beat correspondent, “A lot of things have gone wrong with the examination system. Instead of holding these entrances in private institutes, it would have been better had they been held in the colleges within the University. That would have provided a more conducive environment for the conduction of exams.”

To unearth how the DU administration was responding to these criticisms, the DU Beat correspondent called up the office of the Deputy Proctor of DU, situated opposite to the Department of Botany in North Campus. However, the countless calls and the innumerable emails went unanswered. Nevertheless, sources have noted a senior official working in the administrative quarters of DU as saying, “We have systems in place that would allow students to get clarity on their exams and we are further improving the systems.”

Notwithstanding the ambiguity of this statement, justice needs to be served to candidates whose futures have been trivialised by the incautious comportment of invigilators and examination centers of the LLB and B. Ed entrance examinations this year.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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DUTA Decides to Give Up on Evaluation Boycott

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 18, 2018

The deadlock between DUTA and the University of Delhi’s (DU) administration finally terminated on the 16th of June 2018, a result of the meeting between the Vice Chancellor of DU and the DUTA office bearers. Two days later, on 18th June, the DUTA ended their boycott of evaluation of DU examination papers, in the interest of the student community.

While appealing to the DUTA to lift the nearly month-long evaluation boycott, the VC, on Saturday, had taken serious note of the crisis precipitated by the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) 5th March Notification on the Roster. Through a phone call conversation, Executive Council member of the DUTA Yogendra Yadav informed DU Beat , “The meeting between the VC and DUTA had continued for five hours.”

Notably, the DUTA had been agitating against the UGC’s circular dated 5th March that included a number of provisions which would have allegedly denied reservation of teaching positions in smaller departments to members of the ST, SC and OBC communities. Moreover, it would have derailed the process of permanent appointments and displace ad-hoc teachers who have been teaching for many years.

In Saturday’s meeting, the VC had broken the deadlock by assuring the DUTA that the DU administration will try to get all working ad-hoc faculty continued in the new session. Moreover, regarding the issue of the counting of past services, he had agreed to allow a five-member DUTA delegation to represent its position before the University Committee.

Subsequently, on 18th June, the DUTA held an emergency Executive Meeting followed by a General Body meeting in order to decide their future course of action after the VC’s assurances. In the same, the DUTA decided to terminate their evaluation boycott while resolving to take forward its agitation through alternate modes.

DUTA President Rajib Ray told the DU Beat correspondent, “The student community of DU has always been supportive of our struggle including the time of the evaluation boycott. We have taken note of the appeals made by students and we will ensure that examination results are declared on time so that the interests of students are not hurt.”

DUTA Executive Dr. Surendra Kumar who had been an active participant in the DUTA agitation told this correspondent, “While DUTA has agreed to give up the evaluation boycott for the students, we have not agreed to give up our agitation per se.”

When asked about the future course of action, he remarked, “Regarding the Reservation Roster, the DUTA will review the situation after the 2^nd July Supreme Court hearing on the Review Petition. The need of the hour is to mobilise wider political support on the issue of the Roster to ensure that the Constitutional rights of the SCs, STs and OBCs are protected.”

The official circular of DUTA summarizing the minutes of the meeting held on Monday concluded, “The withdrawal of the evaluation boycott is in the spirit of empathy and solidarity. It now remains to be seen whether the MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and DU’s administration are able to go beyond usual platitudes and are able to show genuine concern for the students and teachers.”

Arushi Chabbra, a student of B.Com Honours who appeared for her final semester exams from Indraprastha College for Women told this correspondent, “We are glad that the DUTA listened to our demands and decided to give up their evaluation boycott. The relationship between the students and the teachers in DU should essentially be symbiotic. We supported them in their struggle, now they must show their support by starting the evaluation process at the earliest.”

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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DUB Speak

College vs Course: A Race Between The Two

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 16, 2018

The arduous decisions that you are compelled to take during the admission season at the University of Delhi (DU) can be like Race 3: Hard on your mind, unbearable for your soul.

While all students are faced with one or the other strenuous circumstances involving life-altering decisions, one of the most gruelling decisions has to do with the debate on college versus course. On one hand, you have your dream college and on the other, you have your favourite course. It is a tough call to make but there isn’t one right answer that fits everyone. The faculty members of the University of Delhi are good at their jobs all over and great professors aren’t just restricted to a few colleges. So the difference in the ranking of colleges is usually a result of other factors and not solely because of a lack of the quality of the faculty. However, it is a fact that a high-ranking college does make a positive difference to your CV. Therefore, for those who feel this factor to be essential in their chosen field can choose course over college. On the other hand, if one aims to pursue research and higher studies in one particular subject, then choosing course over college might just be the right decision. As a Professor in the Department of English says, “Before choosing a stream, the student should understand that a college tags for three years while the discipline tags throughout the career.” The choice of college or course also depends on the career path one has chosen. If your career is leaning towards co-curricular activities, it makes sense to choose a college that has the best society or team for your chosen field.

Choosing Course Over College

In conversation with DU Beat, Professor at Deshbandhu College Vandana Kaul remarked, “If you compromise with your course just to get into the college of your choice, it might affect your performance in the long run. Although the thought of being in a renowned college might excite you for the initial few months, in the long run, you might start losing interest in the course you had chosen. It might have a more serious repercussion later as the course you choose for your undergraduate studies usually form the basis of your career.”

Shaila Bora, a student of Economics who took admission in DU in 2016, told the DU Beat correspondent, “I had scored a 96.25% in my qualifying examination. I had made the cut-off for Sociology in Lady Shri Ram College for Women in the first cut-off list itself and would have also gotten into the college hostel. Although the prospects of the same tempted me for a brief while, I straightened my priorities and ended up taking BA (Honours) in Economics at Zakir Hussain Delhi College. Had I let the thought of being in a better college tempt me, I would have been disoriented with my course and career prospects. Two years later, I am more than content with my decision. In a year, I will have a degree in Economics and a certification from the University of Delhi.”

Choosing College Over Course

However, Manali Sharma, Assistant Professor at the Department of Chemistry, feels otherwise. She told the DU Beat correspondent, “Apart from the course that you are pursuing, the environment of your college also goes a long way in retaining your interest in studies and improving your academic performance. A good college offers better opportunities, better infrastructure, better faculty members and enhanced opportunities for extracurricular activities.”

Vanshika Mehta, a student pursuing B.A. Programme at Hindu College, told DU Beat, “I wanted to pursue History, but took BA Programme with History and Political Science as my core disciplines. That has proven to be the best decision of my life because now, I am able to study multiple subjects and not just one. Moreover, the kind of exposure that this college has given me is exceptional.”

She added, “The facilities of the college and practical experience you gain there are important factors for overall growth and career success. More importantly, a graduate from a renowned college would have a relatively upper hand in campus placements.”

While the debate between college and course can be taxing, it is important to make an informed choice and not rush with the decision. At the end of the day, what matters is getting the most out of your choice.

Feature Image Credits: NPR

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

Uncategorized

ECA: Divinity For Minority Colleges

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 14, 2018

Our Indian education system’s school boards can be as temperamental as Simon Cowell’s manner of judging contestants at the X Factor: Whimsical and capricious. Acknowledging this anomaly, the University of Delhi (DU) allows scope for admission through the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) quota.

PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE

Taran Gulati, an ECA candidate who was admitted to DU through the ECA category ‘Divinity for Minority Colleges’ in 2016 told DU Beat, “Since only a few colleges accept students through this category, not many apply for the same. Moreover, very few seats are available for this category.”

She added, “However, this doesn’t affect the standard of competition. There is considerable competition, and the preparation required is remarkable. This is because you have to be knowledgeable in the elemental aspects of Sikhism, as well as be skilled at cultural aspects such as reciting the Ragas or Gurbani.”

COMMON ECA GUIDELINES

Trials will be held at two levels: (i) Preliminary trials (ii) Final Trials.
The trials of both these levels shall be the conducted by an ECA Committee appointed by the University Admission Committee.
“Candidates will get a relaxation of only up to 15% in cut-offs if they apply for the ECA quota,” says Suchitra Gupta, Deputy Dean of Culture and Youth Affairs in DU.

This implies that not more than 15% relaxation in academic merit vis-à-vis unreserved category applicants (for the last relevant cut-off) may be given for admission to specific programmes. In simpler terms, if the cut-off for a particular course is 90%, then the ECA candidate will get a relaxation of up to 15%. This means, to be eligible for admission to a course whose last relevant cut-off was 90%, the candidate must have scored at least 75% in his qualifying examination.

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

No accompanists will be allowed.
The students should be prepared in the following:

Ragas and contributors of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
Teachings of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib
‘Nitnem Banis’
Concept of Haume, Naam, Langar, Sewa in Sikhism and the Sikh code of conduct
Historical Gurudwaras of Delhi and their history
‘Ardaas’
Playing the instruments while reciting Gurbani

An applicant being selected in the final list does not guarantee admission. Admission is subject to the availability of seats in a course and college.

COLLEGES WHICH ADMIT STUDENTS THROUGH THIS CATEGORY

Only 4 minority colleges admit students through this ECA category. The colleges are – Mata Sundri College, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College (SGND), Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College (SGTB) and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce.

SOME TIPS TO ACE THE TRIAL

Candidates must understand the essence of the ‘Nitnem Banis’ which is a collaboration of different Banis that were designated to be read by Sikhs every day. The ‘Nitnem Banis’ usually include the ‘Panj Bania’.
Candidates may take reference from http://www.searchsikhism.com/concept-of-guru , which will provide them with comprehensive guidance in the key concepts of Sikhism
The trials almost always have questions revolving around the historical ‘Gurudwaras’ of Delhi. To prepare for the same, candidates can take reference from https://www.worldgurudwaras.com/historical-gurudwaras/india/delhi

THE TRIALS

The preliminary round will be held on the 14th and 15th of June 2018, from 9 am, at Kamla Nehru College.
Following this, the list of the short-listed candidates for the final round will be notified on the university website.
In the final round, the applicants must carry all the relevant certificates in original (and a self-attested photocopy) for evaluation. The certificates will account for 25% of the total weightage while the trials in the final round will account for 75% of the weightage.

OBLIGATIONS

The selected candidates will have to submit an Undertaking at the time of admission stating that the candidate will perform for the College for the entire period of the candidate‘s undergraduate programme of study. The college has a right to cancel their admissions if they violate the undertaking during their stay in college.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

Admissions 2018

Economics Honours: The ‘Khaleesi’ of all Undergraduate Courses

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 7, 2018

Theology Behind The Title:

Boasting the highest cut-offs and the most lucrative placements on completion of the three-year bachelors course, Economics Honours is the Khaleesi (queen) of all undergraduate courses in the University of Delhi (DU).

There are 42 colleges in DU which offer the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Honours in Economics. This list includes the University campus colleges, evening colleges and morning-shift colleges.

Course Content in DU

Real Estate tycoon, T.V. Mogul, and the President of the United States of America Donald Trump had majored in economics. Whether you like him or not, the guy knows money.

While he had pursued his degree from the University of Pennsylvania, some of the basic elements of Economics (H) are shared by universities across the world. These include the shared emphasis on statistical methods, economic history, econometrics, development theory, and so on.

However, in India, the curriculum has undergone changes after the semester system came into effect in 2011. “The focus has altered a little and involves the rigours of Mathematics. Options like comparative economic development have been edged out by econometrics, as it is more practical and scoring. The course is at par with any conventional Economics (H) programme in the world,” said Associate Professor of Economics at Miranda Hosue, Meeta Kumar.
The Economics of Why You Should Take Economics

The Economics of Salary:

Professor Karen Mumford at the University of York had remarked, “Economics graduates can easily find jobs in the civil service, the City, industry or education…If you want to make a difference, you can. If you don’t want to make a difference, at least you can make a lot of money”.

It is indeed veritable that salaries for Economics graduates are among the highest, relative to other disciplines. Different research trends show different starting salary values but it emerges that economics graduates are comparatively well paid.

The Artistry of Versatility

Economics (H) is the course that allows you to study Tesco’s and ASDA’s (two retailing institutions) methods of competition one day, and learn about the environment and pollution permits the next.

The Virtue of Informed Citizenry

Economics (H) teaches you how to make well-informed decisions. A large part of the subject is decision making: what should the government do to cut the budget deficit, what should a business do to raise profit margins, where to invest your money in or which bank to use, and so on.

Eligibility to Pursue Economics Honours in DU

Admission will be based on the merit list. The merit shall be determined on the basis of one language and three best elective subjects i.e. the ‘best of four’ criteria.
The applicants must have qualified 10+2 (12th examination) from any recognised board.
The applicants must have studied and passed Mathematics in the qualifying exam.
An aggregate of 45% marks in the qualifying examination is the minimum percentage required for admission to this course.

Trends in Cut-off of Previous Years:

Interestingly, the minimum scores for admission to this course are some of the highest in this subject. In 2017, the cut-off was 95% or above at over 20 colleges, and over 90% at all colleges.

While Hindu College, Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), and Kirori Mal College had set their cut-offs for Economics (H) at 97.5 per cent, SRCC had pegged the cut-off just a little higher at 97.75 per cent for the same.

The category-wise width or range of last year’s cut-offs are as follows-

General- 98.5% to 84.5%
Other Backward Classes (OBCs)- 96.75% to 66.5%
Scheduled Castes (SC)- 96.25% to 58%
Scheduled Tribes(ST)- 93.5% to 43%

Expected Trends in Cut-off in 2018:

Jaswinder Singh, Principal and Professor of Economics at SGTB Khalsa College said, “The cut-offs for Economics (H) are a little behind B.Com. (H) every year. However, the cut-offs of the former are likely to remain high this year as the number of high scorers has ballooned while the seats have remained the same.’’
Road Ahead and Scope:

The skills developed through studying Economics (H) are incredibly versatile. For instance, student of Economics Lara Dutta had applied her knowledge in the subject to ace the Personality Round at the Miss Universe Pageant in 2000 and had subsequently gone on to win the same. On the other hand, Kofi Annan, who had pursued Economics from Macalester College had gone on to become the Secretary General of the UN.

Banking, consultancy, Professorship, Indian Administrative Service, further academic study (such as an MBA or Ph.D. in Economics), Corporate Law, government jobs (like in The Indian Economic Services and the Reserve Bank of India), Think Tanks (such as the NITI Ayog) are some of the fields which can be considered by a student pursuing Economics (H) from DU.
Feature Image Credits: India Today
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
[email protected]

News

Two DU Law Students Die In Road Mishap on Saturday

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 3, 2018

Two final-year law students from the University of Delhi (DU) died in a road mishap near Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial in Civil Lines in the wee hours of 2nd June 2018.

The two students pursuing law from the Faculty of Law (DU), Akshat Kamboj and Vikhyat Pandit, were on a scooter and are suspected to have been hit by a tractor. The students and four others were returning to their flat from Chandni Chowk. The group was travelling on three different two-wheelers.

The Police learnt about the accident through a call from a passerby at 3.04 am, who informed them about the two bleeding men lying on the road. A team was dispatched to the spot and the two youths were taken to Sushruta Trauma Centre where they were declared brought dead. A senior police official was quoting as saying, “Akshat died on the spot while Vikhyat was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.”

The police officer had commented, “During preliminary inquiry, it was found that they were riding a scooter, and were hit by a vehicle while trying to overtake a bus. We have registered a case of rash driving and causing death due to negligence. CCTV footage of the area is being checked to ascertain the vehicle number.”

The postmortem of both victims was conducted on Saturday and the bodies were subsequently handed over to the families. After being informed about this unfortunate incident, the DU Beat correspondent decided to take insights from different student quarters of DU regarding the road safety mechanism prevailing on campus and how it can be improved.

President (DU unit) of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) Kawalpreet Kaur, who is herself pursuing law from the Faculty of Law, the same institution as the victims, gave her insights to the DU Beat correspondent through a phone call conversation. She remarked, “The Campus area should be declared a ‘closed students’ area’ which means that there should be certain restrictions laid down for the plying of vehicles of the general public. We had proposed this to the Varsity and this proposal was also taken up for serious consideration. But due to political pressures from certain quarters like the Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Delhi Government, this proposal has not made much headway.”

Bharat Khatana, Delhi State Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who is also pursuing law from the Faculty of Law, told DU Beat, “This is not the first time that students have lost their lives in road accidents. One way to ensure safety for one and all is to place CCTV cameras at every intersection. Further, students must not engage in driving if they are under the influence of any alcoholic substance. Students must not jump red lights even if it is not the peak hour.”

Vijay Tyagi, the former Social Media Head of the ABVP, who also pursued his Bachelor’s from the Faculty of Law, told the DU Beat correspondent, “The fact that there is no proper road safety mechanism in campus is appalling. And the recurrent road accidents that have been taking place are testimonies of this.” When asked about what can be done to improve the state of affairs on campus, he told this correspondent, “First, personal vehicles should not be allowed on Chhatra Marg. Second, there should be separate lanes for two-wheelers and a well-maintained road for pedestrians across the campus. And third, the University Security Personnel should increase their effort to maintain law and order on campus.”

Feature Image Credits: The Times of India

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

Admissions 2018

All you need to know about Delhi University’s Undergraduate Entrance-Based Courses

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 2, 2018

For those of you with a different bent of mind, the University of Delhi provides you with more than a dozen Bachelor’s courses, the admissions to which are conducted on the basis of entrance examination.

The online registration for these 12 courses began on 15th May 2018 (registration link: https://ug.du.ac.in/app2k18/), and the last date for submission of the application for the same is 7th June. Applicants are required to apply online through the Web Portal (http://admission.du.ac.in).

Take a look at these courses and do visit the links given, to get a better idea about the programs offered.

B.A. (Honours) Business Economics

The underlying philosophy of the B.A. (Honours) Business Economics course is to develop theoretical and analytical skills of the students which equip them for the corporate world and higher studies at the Master’s level in Business Economics or Economics.
Five optional groups in finance, economics, quantitative techniques, marketing and project management and entrepreneurship provide the students a wide array of areas in which to specialise.

An aggregate of 60% marks in the qualifying examination based on a simple average of the percentage scored in four subjects is compulsory in order to secure admission to this coveted course.
At the time of filling the application form, all applicants are required to state their order of preference of college from which he/she wishes to pursue this course. The applicants are required to select at least one preference to complete the form and the applicant may desire not to choose additional preferences. The preference order once submitted cannot be changed once the payment of fee is made.

There will be 100 questions. Each correct answer will get the applicant a score of plus 4 marks, and each wrong answer will get the applicant a score of minus 1 mark and a question not answered will get a score of zero marks.

Bachelor of Management Studies

This course, which had earlier replaced three courses i.e. Bachelor of Business Studies, Bachelor of Business Economics, and Bachelor of Financial and Investment Analysis, is now administered by the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Humanities.

An aggregate of 60% marks in the qualifying examination based on a simple average of the percentage scored in four subjects is mandated for qualification for admission to this course. Selection will be based on the rank computed from the combined weighted average of percentage scored in the All India Joint Entrance Test and the percentage scored in the qualifying examination wherein the weights are: Entrance Test: 65%, Qualifying Examination: 35%.

Mandatory requirement of subjects studied and passed includes one language English, Mathematics and two other subjects included in List A. List A includes the disciplines offered by the University of Delhi for admissions to the three-year undergraduate programmes which are treated as Academic/Elective subjects. All the disciplines subjects must have at least 70% component of theory and 30% component of practical. Theory component doesn’t include internal assessments or continuous evaluation.

Bachelor of Business Administration (Financial Investment Analysis)

This course is a three-year full-time professional degree program, to be taught in six semesters. There will be 24 papers in all to be taught over the six semesters.The medium of instruction is English.

The entrance exam will be of two hours’ duration based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), designed to evaluate the aptitude of the applicants.
The following areas are included in the entrance test: Quantitative Ability, Reasoning and Analytical Ability, General English, and Business and General Awareness
Mathematics is required to be considered in the ‘Best of Four’ percentage, failing which a student will not be eligible for admission to this course.

Read more: https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://sscbs.du.ac.in/&ved=2ahUKEwiU9oDd_Y7bAhULpY8KHcPhCNMQFjACegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw3w826gJNyN9GW9x9_B3lKh
B.Tech. (Information Technology and Mathematical Innovations)

The Cluster Innovation Centre, University of Delhi, offers this four-year B.Tech course which is designed to inculcate an innovation mindset as part of the curriculum and pedagogy. An aggregate of 60% marks in four subjects (including Mathematics) in the qualifying examination is regarded as the qualifying criteria for admission to this course.

The Entrance test will be of two hours’ duration and will be based on Mathematics, reasoning and analytical abilities at 10+2 levels.
The test is of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format. There will be 100 questions. For each correct answer, a student shall score +4 marks and for each wrong answer, there will be -1 mark. Mathematics is a mandatory subject for a student to be eligible for admission to this course.

Bachelor of Elementary Education

An aggregate of 50% marks in the qualifying examinations as well as 50% marks in each of the four subjects is necessary for admittance to this course. The criteria for selecting the four subjects can be One subject from List I and three from List II, as mandated by the Varsity.
The Entrance test will be two hours duration and will be based on English, Hindi, Mathematics, Science and Social science up to class 10th level. The Entrance test is of Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format. The Entrance Test shall be bilingual (English and Hindi) wherever applicable.

Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, Health Education and Sports (B.Sc.[PE,HE&S])

An aggregate of 45% marks in the qualifying examination determined on the basis of one language and three best subjects is the qualifying criteria for admission to this course. Admission will be based on the combined weighted average of percentage scored in the Entrance Test, Physical Fitness, and Sports proficiency wherein the weights are: Entrance test- 50%; Physical Fitness Test- 20% and Sports Proficiency- 30%.

It is essential for every applicant to appear in all the Admission Criteria Components (Entrance Written Test, Physical Fitness and Sports proficiency) in order to be considered for final admission to the course.
The questions will be asked in English and Hindi language both.

B.A. (Honours) Multimedia and Mass Communication

This is a self-financed programme of DU which is only provided by Indraprastha College for Women.
An aggregate of 75% marks in the best four (including 85% in English) of the qualifying examination is required for a student to be eligible for admission to this course.

The entrance test will be based on General Awareness, Media Awareness, Current Affairs, English Comprehension and Grammatical and Analytical Skills

Faculty of Music and Fine Arts

The Faculty of Music and Fine Arts allows students to pursue Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in

Hindustani Music-Vocal/Instrumental (Sitar/Sarod/Guitar/Violin/Santoor)
Karnatak Music-Vocal/Instrumental (Veena/ Violin)
Percussion Music (Tabla/Pakhawaj)

Admission for all the above-mentioned courses will be strictly based on practical admission entrance test.
Candidates seeking admission to these courses must have passed any one of the following examinations with 45% or more marks in the aggregate with Music as one of the subjects. Candidates who have not offered Music as one of the subjects at the last qualifying examination must have learned Music for not less than three years in a recognised institution.

Practical admission entrance test will be held on 4th and 5th July 2018 from 10.00 a.m. onwards in the Department of Music, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, University Delhi.

At the time of practical admission entrance test, candidates are required to bring a print out of duly filled in an online registration form and all original documents (mark-sheets, degrees etc.), along with a set of photocopy of each document.
5% of the total number of seats in each course is reserved for the children/widows/wives of officers and men of the Armed forces.

Five-Year Integrated Programme in Journalism in Delhi School of Journalism

This course offers a Five Year Integrated Program in Journalism in two languages, English and Hindi. The program offers an exit option after three years, in which case the student will be awarded Degree of Bachelors in Journalism The students completing two years post graduate course will be awarded the Degree of Masters in Journalism

An aggregate of 50% marks in the qualifying examination determined on the basis of all five subjects offered in the qualifying examination is considered the eligibility criteria for this course.

The Entrance test will be of two hours’ duration and will be based on the General Awareness (GK), Media Awareness, Current Affairs, English Comprehension Grammatical and Analytical Skills, Logical Reasoning and Basic Mathematics Skills.

This course is provided by the Cluster Innovation Centre nestling at the heart of North Campus.
An aggregate of 60% marks in four subjects in the qualifying examination is compulsory for a student’s admittance to this course.
The Entrance test will be two hours’ duration and will be based on General Awareness, Current Affairs, General Knowledge, Communication skills (English/Hindi), Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability at 10+2 levels.
The questions will be asked in English and Hindi both.

Read more: https://ducic.ac.in/Programs-BA-Hons-Concept
Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
[email protected]

DU Remains Non-committal Towards Report Addressing Sexual Harassment Charges

By Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak June 1, 2018

The University of Delhi (DU) has remained non-committal towards an inquiry report submitted by the Varsity’s sexual harassment redressal cell on the 21st of May 2018. The report had addressed the charges of sexual harassment levelled against Ramesh Chandra, Professor at the Department of Chemistry, DU.

Ironically, the report itself had missed the 90-day deadline and had come after five months. But instead of acting on the suggestions, the Varsity has remained dodgy about the same.

The charges against Ramesh Chandra were brought in December 2017 by an ad-hoc teacher who had complained of being humiliated by Professor Chandra in front of six male faculty members during an interview for an ad-hoc position at the Department of Chemistry where she had been teaching for over six years.
Moreover, on 28th March 2018, students of the Department had written to the Vice-Chancellor, demanding the expulsion of Chandra from the post of Head of Department (HOD). In contrast, Professor Chandra had maintained that the allegations are baseless and are meant to malign him.

Through a phone call conversation, the teacher who had levelled the charges had informed the DU Beat correspondent, “I no longer teach at the Department of Chemistry. I had been teaching there for over 6 years, but May 2018 was my last month there.”

The inquiry report released by the Internal Complaints Committee on May 21st found “the act of Chandra to be sexual harassment”. Besides directing the University to apprise the Deans and Heads of Departments to have zero tolerance towards sexual harassment, the report also contained an admonitory warning for the other faculty members who were part of the interview committee with Chandra.
On being informed about the findings of the report, Chandra said that he is yet to get a copy of the report. However, he insisted that the case would set a bad precedent as that would put serious constraints on the autonomy of interview committees across the University.

Angshumi, a student pursuing her Master’s from the Department of Chemistry, told the DU Beat correspondent, “The teacher who had leveled the charges has taught us before. She is known to us to be a genuine person.” Another student told DU Beat on conditions of anonymity, “Professor Chandra is known to be aggressive. Even earlier, video clips of him engaging in a physical assault against other male teachers had surfaced.”

The Registrar of DU confirmed receipt of the report, and further made assurances that it would be “discussed”. However, no elaboration of the anticipated ‘discussion’ was provided to the DU Beat correspondent regardless of an email addressed to the Registrar seeking clarification on the same.
A case witness alleged that the inquiry report was diluted and shouldn’t have been delayed by so many months as the case was filed on 21st December 2017. “The University should now act on it and punish Chandra,” the witness held. The witness also alleged that the University was trying to save the accused and might let him off with a warning. Pankaj Garg, Academic Council Member at DU, remarked that the charges gathered against Chandra were grave and that “the matter” should not be brushed “under the carpet”.

Feature Image Credits: Iowa Tapestry
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
[email protected]

(With inputs from The Times of India)