In a progressive step towards giving equal access to PWD students, the University of Delhi will now have reserved seats for acid attacks survivors and students with thalassemia and dwarfism.
These reservations are mandated bythe Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. According to this Act, all government institutions of higher education and other higher education institutions which get government aid must reserve at least 5% of the seats for persons with benchmark disabilities. Acid attack survivors and other disabilities such as dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, and slow learners have also been included under benchmark disabilities.
Anil K. Aneja, nodal officer of the DU equal opportunity cell claims that, “The files are under process and if everything goes according to the flow, we will implement the reservation policy as per the new act which asks to reserve 5 per cent seats for a person with benchmark disability during admission. We will also try to comply with the 4 per cent reservation in employment provision.”
Delhi-based acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal welcomed this move and said, “This will help create more awareness among people about acid attack victims. Most of the times, these victims feel alienated, and reluctance on our part to accept them further increases their plight. Reservation in universities such as DU is very supporting for us.”
In a survey conducted by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People (NCPEDP), it was found that a mere 0.56% of seats in higher education go to disabled candidates.
It is expected that after these developments, the university space will become inclusive.
With inputs from the New Indian Express and The Asian Age
Having launched an app to ensure the convenience of blind students, Miranda House has now come up with three different apps to make college work easier for students and teachers alike. The college is ready to go live with the apps from the new academic session of 2017-2018.
The apps are called Event Hub, SmartProf, and InfraCare. Following are the details:
Event Hub:
> Students who head societies, unions, etc can book venues to organise and conduct events through this app.
> Similar interface lets one choose between the Seminar Hall, Auditorium, Heritage Hall, and Student Activity Centre.
> The app notifies one whether a venue is booked, or if an event taking place there is open or closed.
> Event posters have to be uploaded at the time of booking.
> The app also allows requisitioning of PA systems and other equipment.
Infra Care:
> Through this app, anyone can lodge a complaint about infrastructure issues in the college and the hostels.
> As proof, a photo legitimising the complaint has to be uploaded.
> Status of the complaint is shared with the complainant.
Smart Prof:
> Students and teachers can view attendance records, curriculum, and lecture locations.
> Teachers can take attendance on the app and the students can view it.
> Timetable and lecture timings can be set by the teachers.
The apps have been designed so as to cut down on red-tape and involve the students in the functioning of the college. In a statement to the Times of India, Dr. Pratibha Jolly, Principal of the college, maintained, “We are committed to building a technology-enhanced active learning environment, and realising innovatively the full potential of IT in education.”
With inputs from the Times of India
The Central Board of Secondary Education, which was anticipated to declare the Class XII Board results on May 24th, has announced that the results will not be released today. However, the results are not likely to be delayed indefinitely.
The Delhi High Court ruling by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Judge Pratibha M. Singh on May 23rd, 2017 was passed on a PIL filed by a parent and a lawyer, directing the CBSE to restore the marks moderation policy for this examination cycle. The petition sought to contend the decision on the grounds that the alteration in marking policy was executed through a notification by the CBSE only after the culmination of exams. The decision would have a “drastic effect on the students.”
Until now, ‘moderation’ has been a common practice undertaken by school boards to maintain uniformity in the evaluation procedure. This is done considering the variances in difficulty level and other factors.
The Board sources have confirmed that the results will not be declared today. “The results are not likely to be delayed. Even if we have to apply the moderation policy, it will not cause a lot of delay because everything is done scientifically,” a source said.
A meeting has been called by the Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar, to deliberate and act upon the High Court ruling. The meeting is expected to witness the presence of the CBSE Chairman, Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi, and the Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary, Anil Swarup, amongst other officials.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education to continue awarding grace marks to students to maintain parity in the evaluation process. The CBSE Board exam results which were scheduled to be announced tomorrow, i.e. May 24th, 2017, are now likely to be postponed considering the order.
A PIL was filed by a parent and a lawyer challenging the change in marking policy which was to be implemented by the board this cycle onwards. The interim order was passed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Pratibha M Singh on May 23rd, 2017. The scrapping of moderation policy was deliberated and brought to a consensus in a meeting held in April, which witnessed the presence of 32 school boards. The petition sought to contend the decision on the grounds that the alteration in marking policy was executed through a notification by the CBSE after the culmination of exams. Hence, it would have a severe impact on students.
Until now, ‘moderation’ has been a common practice undertaken by school boards to maintain uniformity in the evaluation procedure. This is done considering the variances in difficulty level and other factors. However, its erroneous usage has also been cited as the foundational reason for the percentage spike, leading to cut-offs of 100% for a few courses by various colleges in the varsity since the last few years.
Last week, the CBSE appealed to the University of Delhi’s Vice Chancellor to grant appropriate weightage to the CBSE students for the undergraduate admissions, as it removed the moderation policy and anticipated a drop in scores. The students might face a disadvantage due to the practice still being adhered to by the other state boards. DU, however, rejected this plea.
The Delhi High Court regarded CBSE’s decision as “unfair and irresponsible,” and questioned the implementation of the change in policy from this year onwards, considering the results for the academic session 2016-17 are to be announced soon. The decision is said to have a “drastic effect on the students.”
Kirti Wadhwa, a recent pass-out, comments, “Moderation or no moderation, CBSE students continue to be the potential victims of flawed policies. Sadly, the ones at the highest disadvantage are the ones most deserving. Moderation means getting but not deserving, hence a hike in the competition. No moderation only in CBSE means no Delhites in the University of Delhi.”
“It would have been better had we been informed earlier about the alteration in the marking policy. Undoubtedly, the students are at an evident loss here,” says Aditya Subramaniam, a DU aspirant aiming to gain admission in the varsity.
Due to the order, the Board results are likely to be affected and delayed. The University of Delhi’s online undergraduate admissions portal became operational yesterday, with the last date for registration decided as June 12th, 2017.
The tale of the dreaded day begins with a sleepless night. Tossing and turning, with momentary lapses of sleep, a recent school pass-out wakes up in the morning to realise the nuanced importance of the day.
The early arrival of the day which has been etched in the pages of history as the origin of happiness and dejection has left the internet inspired in a chaos of woes. The Bollywood-influenced memes, the rhetoric of future detachment from these scores, the brimming anxiety, and the inhabitants of the community who pester you with good wishes and unreasonable expectations – a recent pass-out is subjected to a spectrum of emotions in the hours preceding D-Day. Regardless of the significance of these marks, the fact that almost everyone is affected, positively or negatively, by the outcome of the result cannot be conveniently ignored. You might try to reason with yourself and endeavour to overcome the fear that grips the reins of your heart tonight; yet, it sustains and thrives. While no array of advice can prove to be advantageous in placating your worries, the idea of knowing what to expect tomorrow can temporarily soothe your vexed heart.
Fantasising multiple scenarios: As you lead up to the hours before you shall login to the CBSE website, the insecurities in your head and heart will probe you to predict the possible scores. All efforts shall be involved in calculating your Best of Four with these hypothetical cases, based on a presumptive knowledge of how well your paper went two months ago. While optimism is a human strength and necessity, try to keep the hopes on an average scale. You shall get more than what you anticipated, or you shall receive a score which was the nightmare of your dreams. Scores have been known to increase through re-evaluation, so don’t let your confidence fool you. Anything and everything can happen.
The familial conundrum: They are the Tom Hanks to your Leonardo DiCaprio; you can’t outrun them. All the jests conceptualised from the anecdotes of your dur ke relatives are known to resonate with reality. Your parents’ phone shall be the ground base of the familial expectations, and all those family groups which have been muted for one year would blast with messages preceding and succeeding the event. How do you tackle this unsought hassle? Ask your parents to maintain the concrete barrier between the questions of the relatives and your state.
Technical glitches and moment of truth: Fables of the technical issues pervading the realms of the CBSE website must have been made known to you through the grapevine. These are real, and extremely perturbing. Try to remember that thousands of applicants will be trying to gain access to their results, so patience is the key. Avoid being in public at the time when the results are expected to come; the delay in opening the website and the chaotic environment might enhance the maelstrom of dilemma in your mind. Also, CBSE is not known to be punctual. The results can come either before the estimated time or after. When it does, your heartbeats will fasten when you see this screen:
Image Credits: CBSE
The aftermath: The bomb has been dropped and your mind is in a state of frenzy. Science, Commerce, Humanities – these areas of study are now being perceived by you in a completely different way. You might be ecstatic with that triple digit score, you might be overjoyed with the 95+ marks in the majority of subjects, or you might be overwhelmed with attaining the score you’ve always dreamt of. Scenario 2: you might be dejected, you might be devastated. An idea in your conscience which reiterated everyday that you deserved to attain the highest possible marks for your hard work has now been defeated. For the former set, heartiest congratulations on this feat. For the latter, congratulations on displaying the best of your efforts, and finally being relieved of this bower. It might not have been what you expected, it might have been the reality of your worst nightmare – and we’re here to tell you that it’s okay.
Your dejection and disappointment might linger for hours, days, and weeks. Your capabilities might be put into question by the voices in your head. Remember, as important as it is to let your guard down and feel low for a while, don’t succumb to that vulnerability. The road after this milestone stretches miles and miles further, and you have yet to accomplish great feats. Apply for re-evaluation after discussing with your teachers if you feel you deserve more, look for prospective colleges and courses based on this outcome, apply for ECA to increase your chances, and muster the courage to look beyond this trough.
You will find yourself returning to the question of the significance of these marks. Does a sheet of paper deserve to decide your future? Indubitably not. Will that sheet of paper decide your future? Not necessarily. Not if you choose to accept the result for what it is and decide to undertake the next challenge. Not if you harbour the courage to negate your wallowing with newer ambitions. Not if you realise that where the road ends and where the next ‘chapter’ of your lives begin, it’s going to be okay.
Hello Meal is an initiative taken by a few students of the University Of Delhi to provide a wide variety of foods. In a short span of time, they are now on a platform everyone wishes to be at. All their actions and activities have been conducted considering the needs and demands of the people. Hello Meal is a perfect way to have mouth-watering food at your doorstep, as it is highly convenient for students as well as for the local crowd in every manner. Not only are the prices reasonable, but the quantity is remarkable as well. They specialise mainly in North Indian, Chinese, and Continental cuisines, and are extremely popular for their biryanis and paranthas. Additionally, their Economical Meal Menu is exceptional.
Due to some shifting issues, they had briefly paused operating. However, there is no need to stress, as Hello Meal will be back again on Thursday, 25 May 2017 with the same energy and delicious food along with a satisfactory delivery at your door. They also offer the option of pre-booking a meal from the midnight of the 24 May.
Positioned in Vijay Nagar, Hello Meal offers home delivery from 11am to midnight. They are available on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and offer toll-free telephone assistance at 1800-200-5565. For a better experience, download the Hello Meal app available on Play Store. They can also be found on Zomato.
In a world where everyone is making money out of students, they are the ultimate saviours.
Feature Image Credits: Hello Meal
Content by Hello Meal
Every year, societies from colleges across the campus compete neck to neck and put up spectacular performances during the fest season. This year too, saw certain teams shine a little brighter than the rest. We bring you a series with college societies that put their heart and soul into their respective fields and took home the top prizes at various cultural fests.
With Indian Folk Dance being one of the most awaited events in all DU fests owing to its energetic, vibrant nature, societies from various colleges go head to head competing in the different fests. Although there is no doubt that all teams put up outstanding performances, this year, we were once again witness to one society whose performances outshone all the others. We bring to you a series featuring college societies that put in their blood and sweat, crafting exceptional productions for their respective fields to bag that prize at the end of the night. We present to you a list of societies that emerged as champions and took home the winning title at various cultural fests.
The best college society in each category was selected by creating a tally of the top 3 positions that could be won at various events. The society that secured the 1st position was awarded 3 points, the society that secured the 2nd position was awarded 2 points and finally, the society securing the 3rd position was awarded 1 point. In this way, a tally system was devised as a means to choose the team that had secured the maximum number of points in events across colleges belonging to one particular category.
For the Indian Folk Dance (Group) category, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur (SGTB) Khalsa College scored the maximum points in the tally. Bhangra Inspire of SGTB Khalsa College and their energetic Bhangra dance performance bagged a total of 12 points, followed by Nrityakriti of Maitreyi College that secured 11 points and Nazaakat of Gargi College with 7 points.
The Winning Society at a glance
Bhangra Inspire, SGTB Khalsa College
This year, SGTB Khalsa’s Bhangra Inspire won hearts with their rendition of the energetic Bhangra form of folk dance. Using traditional steps in a unique manner, the society’s vibrant performance was widely appreciated at various dance events, with the society emerging victorious as the winning team of the tally.
The President of the society, Saranjeet Singh, shares their motto “Do, even if you die” and lists “dedication, hard work, focused and strategic training “as reasons behind their successful performance.
Names of performing members:
RupeshArora
Saranjeet Singh
Ramandeep Singh
Dilpreet Singh
Gagandeep Singh
Janmeet Singh
Kiratpal Singh
Jagtaj Singh
Analjeet Singh
Daljeet Singh
Harpreet Singh
Prithvipal Singh
Hakam Singh
Winners Tally
Nine college fests were referred to while evaluating the top societies tally this fest season which were: Tarang: LSR, Ullas: KNC, Tempest: Miranda House, Montage: JMC, Mecca: Hindu College, Reverie: Gargi College, Nexus: Sri Venkateshwara College; Confluence: Hans Raj College, Crossroads: SRCC. Out of the fests listed, only 7 had conducted a competitive Folk Dance Competition.
The society emerged victorious at the following fests:
1st Position: Tempest, Ullas
2nd Position: Mecca, Confluence, Nexus
(Hover on the icons below to know more about their victories)
Self-preservation is the law of the nature. It seems that the first year law students of Delhi University’s law faculty decided to follow nature’s law over the norms set by the University yesterday. The Campus Law Centre(CLC) of Delhi University had to postpone one of its exams of 1st year in the view of ruckus and violent atmosphere created by some students who were not provided their admit cards due to lack of attendance. The students of Law Centre I and Law Centre II protested for the fact that students of campus law centre being provided with provisional admit cards by the Prof. In Charge.
The first year students who reached Campus Law Centre to appear for their Criminal Procedure Code (Cr PC) exams were surprised to find a huge commotion in the centre along with a huge police presence. Some students who were protesting even threatened the authorities of committing suicide by jumping from the 1st floor of the building. The entire event which unfolded yesterday finds its origin in the act of the prof. in charge of Campus Law Centre, Prof. Usha Tandon who issued provisional admit to the detained students of CLC who had not been issued their admit cards due to lack of attendance. This act irked the students of the other centres who had not been issued any admit cards due to lack of attendance.
In an emergency meeting that took place among the dean, Pro vice chancellor(PVC) and the Prof in charge of the centres, it was decided that the Prof. in charges have no authority to issue admit cards, which can only be issued by the University to students who fulfil the criteria set by the Bar Council. Later, in another notice the PVC on the advice of proctor, allowed the prof. in charges to issue admit cards to students which was subject to PVC’s approval. This was met with another notice from the dean of law faculty who mentioned that she won’t be responsible if this action of the university leads to de-recognition of the degree by Bar Council later.
Later in a joint appeal to the detained students, the dean and the Prof. in charges requested them to co-operate with the decision of the University as their action can lead to derecognition of the degree of nearly 5500 students who are currently enrolled in the faculty. The exam which was cancelled will be held later.
Last year, similar ruckus forced the authorities to provide students with admit cards for which the University had to face the ire of Bar Council. “This ruckus by students who don’t attend the faculty for the entire semester is affecting the normal students” said Jaideep Panghal, a student of Law Faculty.
Although students have every right to protest, but is it just to prevent others from giving exams and coerce the authorities with suicide threats instead of attending classes?
The Central Board of Secondary Education has appealed to the University of Delhi’s Vice-Chancellor, Yogesh Tyagi, to grant appropriate weightage to CBSE students for the undergraduate admissions. The board has done away with the practice of marks moderation and expects to witness a dip in the scores. Consequently, the students might face a disadvantage due to the practice still being adhered to by other boards. However, this plea has been rejected by the varsity.
Last month, in a meeting organised by the CBSE, 32 school boards had undertaken a resolution to scrap off the system of marks moderation, which would inevitably result in a percentage drop. Until now, ‘moderation’ has been a common practice undertaken by school boards to maintain uniformity in the evaluation process. This is done considering the variances in difficulty level and other factors. However, its erroneous usage has also been cited as the foundational reason for the percentage spike every year, leading to cut-offs of 100% for a few courses by various colleges in the varsity since the last few years.
The aforementioned resolution is being implemented by the CBSE from this year onwards. However, considering that certain boards would put this idea into practice from the next cycle, the CBSE students are being put at a disadvantage as opposed to students of other state boards who might receive the inflation in marks. The CBSE chairman, R.K. Chaturvedi, wrote a letter to the DU Vice-Chancellor on May 9th, 2017, alluding to this discrepancy as worrisome:
“CBSE, being a national board, intends to adopt the consensus developed in the (April 24) meeting to do away with moderation of marks in senior secondary examination from the current year examination i.e. 2017 itself, so as to set the trend for other state secondary examination to adopt it on priority.”
“However, different state secondary boards may do away with moderation for the next year as they are in the midst of result preparation during the current year. Therefore, this would place CBSE students at a disadvantage during the admission process in the University of Delhi for the session 2017-18.”
“In view of the above, I would request the University of Delhi to consider awarding appropriate weightage to the students of CBSE applying for admission in Delhi University during the academic year 2017-18 to promote awarding of factual marks by other state secondary boards and do away with unfair practice of upward inflation of marks.”
The request for extra weightage and concession to CBSE students has been rebuffed by the University of Delhi, citing that the “varsity will not offer any special treatment to the UG aspirants from the board.” A senior official in a conversation with a popular national daily stated that “There have been issues with the boards from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, or Andhra Pradesh among others on inflating marks. But they are not exceptions as even CBSE had been ‘inflating’ marks in the past.”
The CBSE board results are expected to be announced by May 25th, 2017. The policy change introduced last month has led to a change of pattern. The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class 12 results witnessed a dip of 14% in the overall pass percentage as compared to last year. The Karnataka Board Class 10 results witnessed a drop of 7.24% in the pass percentage.
The admission cycle for the University of Delhi shall commence from May 22nd for undergraduate admissions this year. The varsity has also announced that the Open Days will be conducted from May 22nd to May 31st to clarify all queries with regards to the admissions process.
Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Delhi University, is set to get it first ever woman principal, Simrit Kaur. The college was functioning without a full-time principal since the year 2014, after the retirement of former principal, PC Jain.
Kaur is a professor from the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) which is also where she did her PhD from. She completed her Bachelors from Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) and her Masters from Delhi School of Economics (DSE). Associated with FMS since 1989, she specialises in public policy reforms, macro-economics and economic theory. Earlier, she taught at Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce.
However, the members of Delhi University’s Executive Council (EC) says that university rules were now followed during her appointment. “The rule 7 (2) (b) for the appointment of the principal of colleges other than maintained by the university states that the apex committee should consist of Vice-Chancellor, Pro V-C, visitor’s nominee, chairperson of the college governing body and two members of EC, nominated by it. However, we as EC members never nominated anyone. In fact, we came to know of it after the appointment,” J L Gupta, an EC member, told The Indian Express. The chairman of the college governing body, Ajay Shriram, however, said that all rules were followed during Kaur’s appointment on 12th May 2017.
Simrit Kaur was shortlisted alongside Anil Kumar, a professor at the college, and CP Gupta, a professor at the Department of Finance Studies, South Campus.
