Getting merit-based admissions in Delhi University is the dream that every student in the country nurtures. The candidates and their parents heave sighs of relief once the formalities are finalised, and the acknowledgment slip is procured. But, that’s not what happened with Lariba Ashfaq Ahmed, an aspiring Literature student at Sri Venkateswara College.
It can be agreed that procuring admission in a reputed college can be a tricky business, but for Lariba, it turned out to be a nightmare altogether. On the last day of admissions in the 10th Cut-Off list, Lariba reached Venkateswara College, to inquire about the vacant seats in the Department of English, and procure one, if available. Subsequent to her arrival at the college, she happened to bump into a lady staff, Ms. Nidhi, who directed her to the Head of the Department, of English for clarifications and attaining information about the vacancies. Having obtained a nod of approval from the Head, Lariba rushed to Kamla Nehru College, (where she had already taken admission in a prior list), to cancel her admission and migrate to Venkateswara.
After the admission formalities were over, the college administration handed over an “acknowledgment slip”, bearing Roll Number- 21083 to her, which she accepted, preserved, and left for her home. But this was hardly any cause of rejoicing for her. As soon as she reached her home, she received a call on her mother’s phone, over which the caller alleged that there had been some issues with the verification of her documents, and hence, she should pay a visit to the college in the company of her father the next day.
Upon her visit to the college the next day, she was exposed to the cunning of the college administration. The college staff, somehow caught hold of the acknowledgment slip from her, and, having done that, slammed her documents on her face, stating that she couldn’t be admitted into the college.
This left the student in the doldrums. Having cancelled her admission in KNC and been cunningly struck off the rolls at Venkateswara, she had nowhere to go to. Even though she tried to procure legal help from the police, but all that she could get was the mere fulfillment of formalities. The PCR simply took her statement, making their evergreen promise to “Look into the matter and carry out a thorough investigation”. Meanwhile, the concoction of the administration staff at Venkateswara brought dark clouds over the candidate’s future.
However, Kamla Nehru College came to her timely aid. The college, considering her ordeal, gave her admission in the same cut-off, and the process was glitch and tension free. This entire chain of events brings to the limelight the disheartening treatment the candidates are exposed to at the hands of the unruly administration staff at colleges. Not only is their future played with, there’s no acceptance of the deed or an apology from the college’s end.
Interestingly, students at Venkateswara had remained oblivious to the incident, until an FB post and a YouTube video went viral. According to the students, the college has been manipulative enough to ensure that the incident doesn’t come out to the reach of the public spectrum, because they think that the college is already acquainted with the fact that the students are not in favor of the administration staff.
The students have shown a marked resentment against this agitating incident and expect a proper explanation and solution to such problems. Even though they request that their identities are kept hidden, their words will surely shine bright like the moon on the full moon night, through DU Beat. Their thoughts are fraught with resilience and expect a concrete solution from the varsity’s end regarding behaviour of the administration staff, rather than the college’s end, because this is more or less the story of every college.
“If the candidate wasn’t eligible for admissions, why wasn’t she told that in the first place? Why did the college play with an innocent student’s career?”, said a student of Venkasteswara College, on anonymity..
“The problem is, the administrative staff does not care about the future of the students. They have a gala time in their A/C offices sipping tea, while the students suffer”, mentioned another student from the same college.
If things continue this way, the students are afraid that the college will lose the reputation that it enjoys, which shall pose serious detrimental effects to the interests of the students. This was more or less a case of infringement of the student’s right to education, and it must be looked at with profound gravity.
Feature Image Credits: DU Beat
Aashish Jain
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