1st – Ishan Marvel
Delhi college of arts and commerce
2nd Anhiti Patnaik
Lady Sriram College
Special Mention:
Jonathan Daniel Luther
NUS
Fourth year in the running, despite vehement protests, the students of Delhi University continue to face the problem of marks moderation. The issue is that there is actually no sound basis for this moderation and not all colleges have been subject to it.
Ever since results have been declared for the annual year 2008 – 2009, infuriated students from well known colleges of the north and south campus have been protesting outside the Vice chancellor’s office demanding an explanation for the scaling down of their marks.
The list of colleges affected include Sriram Ram College Of Commerce, Lady Sri Ram College for Women , MirandaHouse, Gargi and Jesus and Mary College .In most of these colleges, both the students and staff ,have actively participated in the remonstration against the allegedly baseless moderation of marks. Almost all departments have faced this problem.
In the mathematics department of LSR, a minimum of 8 marks has been lopped off for most students, which is a loss of almost three percent. The Economics , English and Sociology departments have lost a minimum of four marks .In Delhi University where competition is so stiff, the moderation affects students’ university ranking. Students from these colleges have also lost out on first divisions as a consequence of this The philosophy department of MH has been of the victim not only this year but also the year before this. This moderation especially happens in Logic, which is the most scoring subject of the department. Last year, 5 marks had been deducted from the logic paper in spite of the paper being scoring. This year, a lot of students had to bear the brunt as marks have been cut left, right and centre. A student from the Philosophy dept, 2nd year adds on ” We did not expect this to happen. I myself had got 22 in my internal assessment but now my marks are scaled down to 14. Philosophy is as it is not a very scoring subject and logic is the only paper where we can fetch high marks, but sadly this has been very shattering”.
Regular protests in the form of dharnas have been held outside the Vice Chancellor’s office. Statistical proof has been presented. Concerned authorities reasoned out the scaling by saying that the system is unbiased and is done in colleges and for students whose college average of marks show a great amount of aberrance from the university average of marks. A message was also passed on from the Dean of Students Welfare that it was impossible to revert the marks but from the following year a bigger moderation committee would be formed in order to avoid such problems. This announcement was met with even greater objection because the idea of these protests was the abolition of such a committee.
Also marks for the students with low college averages have been scaled down and hence the logic of uniform marking doesn’t hold either. The students are now demanding a rational basis for these steps from the Vice Chancellor.
With the results having been declared a week ago, students across the university are now aiming to migrate to better colleges. However, migration can be tricky if you don’t know exactly how to go about it. DU Beat gives you a lowdown on the process.
1. Aspirants seeking migration to another college are first required to check the criteria of the college they wish to apply to, the information regarding which is available with the respective Head of Department of that college.
2. If the criteria are fulfilled, the candidate needs to submit the following documents to the Section Officer (Administration) or the Head of Department:-
o an Application for migration
o a copy of the Statement of Marks of passing First Year Under-Graduate Examination
o a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the former college
3) The candidate will then be granted a No Objection Certificate from the college to submit to the former college to obtain Transfer Certificate, after which admission to the new college can be applied for.
4. The following documents/ certificates ( original and attested copies) are to be submitted to the Section Officer at the time of admission/ migration into the college-
* Statement of marks of first year undergraduate course
* College leaving certificate
* No objection certificate from parent college ( if not already submitted)
* Class X Board Examination certificate and mark sheet
* Class XII mark sheet and provisional certificate.
* Hindi passing certificate ( VIII/ X/ XII class)
* SC/ ST/ OBC certificate in the name of the candidate, only issued by the designated authority/ declaration/ undertaking by the OBC candidates ( for OBC candidates only)
* 3 non- attested passport size photographs
MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS:-
1. Candidates seeking migration into II Year Programme Courses are required to have passed I Year Under-Graduate Examination with the required percentage as per the college’s criteria.
2. Should have passed Main Papers, Subsidiary Subjects/Concurrent Courses and Qualifying Subjects.
3. Candidates are required to submit a copy of Provisional Certificate/ Statement of Marks of passing Class XII Examination. The Candidate must have passed 12th class examination in five subjects.
NOTE:-
Candidates, whose result has not been declared so far, can submit the Application within a week after the declaration of their results. The same should be confirmed from the administration of the college of preference as well.
Apart from the construction of metro bridges and the ‘constant efforts’ to modify and embellish this city, the most recent tiding that is keeping the hullabaloo of the Commonwealth Games alive is the staggering number of volunteer requirement. The Commonwealth Games is the biggest international event being hosted by India since the Asian Games of 1982.Tthe Ministry of Youth Affairs has therefore approached Delhi University and other major universities like JNU with its concern regarding volunteer requirements. The Ministry has decided to recruit at least 7000 volunteers and has already approached 63 colleges including colleges like Lady Sri Ram College for Women, briefing the staff and the students about their requirements.
The Volunteer Management Programme has been modeled after the Beijing Olympics where even high school students had to go through a number of recruitment stages. The Ministry hopes to follow such a pattern and will be dividing the volunteers into two broad categories – ‘the general volunteers’ and the ‘specific volunteers’. The general volunteers would be responsible for hospitality like welcoming, guiding and catering to the guests’ comforts while the specific category would be responsible for various sport specific jobs. The volunteers will be trained accordingly with their first session of drills beginning this October. This introductory session would be held within the college premises for approximately 20 days where the volunteers will be trained in basic etiquette, courtesy and other modalities.
This sure is a colossal event with 54 participating nations, represented by over 70 teams. Over 8500 international athletes swarming across the streets of Delhi and we as students of DU get to interact with them (provided we volunteer). We have been assured that the volunteers will be given national certificates and comforts such as safe transport for the girl volunteers.
For once let us not be lured into volunteering for want of a certificate but realize that it is a big event for our country and try and make it nearly as big as the Beijing Olympics if not exactly as good, after all it is a weighty opportunity for us too! Events like the Commonwealth do not happen everyday.
A young mind is full of questions, driven with a passion to change the world, and the Right to information Act or RTI is the perfect tool for them.
Right to Information Act, from its very inception, aimed at initiating change. You ask for ‘it’ and you get ‘it’. This is the basic premise of RTI. It ensures a smooth and immediate, ‘hassle free’ flow of information.
However in Delhi University atleast, the procedure for filing an RTI is far from hassle free. As veteran RTI activist and co-ordinator of the Youth Task Force RTI- Josh4India, Aditya Prasad comments, “At times, I feel RTI is losing its charm because the authorities are not serious in implementing it and the public is not too eager to use it. The way the Commission functions and Appellate Authorities act the fight seems endless. They are making it difficult for the common man to use his right.”
In 2007, Aditya Prasad, a student of Delhi University, challenged the transparency of the newly formed internal assessment system at DU. He filed RTI applications to get details about the internal assessment procedures followed by various colleges and universities. Universities like Indraprastha and Jamia Milia provided him with satisfactory response.
However DU and its colleges refused to cooperate. “Some colleges had the audacity to say that they were not under the RTI act. DU’s approach is vague and they have not uploaded any manual as well. They call themselves a university but every college has its own rules and regulations for giving out information.” says Aditya.
All this added up to DU’s violation of section 4 under the RTI act.
Aditya says “Under one of the provisions of Section 4 all public authorities are supposed to maintain all their records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner that facilitates the Right to Information.”
After a year full of complications, in 2008, Central Information Commission (CIC) hauled up DU and its affiliated colleges for not implementing section 4 of the Right to Information Act (RTI).
A deadline of 14th November 2008 was assigned to DU to update all of its online manuals, publish copies for public reference and make sure that all the colleges do the same by November 14.
“Since then, till now, we have had no concrete change. In January2007, I wrote several applications for non compliance of the CIC orders but to no avail” says Aditya.
In his crusade for the RTI he has been threatened to the extent of failing him in his University examinations. But, that till now, hasn’t deterred him from taking these steps.
On June 7th of this year CIC along with Delhi University conducted a seminar for the Principals of various Delhi University colleges regarding the necessary implementation of the RTI act.
As we keep our fingers crossed, Aditya says, “Hope it works this time!”
Credits: Pavni Poddar
Think you can do better? Send in your entries to [email protected]
It can be a photograph, painting, anime or graffiti. Basically anything your creative juices conjure up.
*Credits will be given*
Q) A girl in my class has suddenly started acting weird around me. She’s very touchy-feely and keeps saying bizarre things that make me very uncomfortable. I think she has a crush on me… how do I make her understand that I’m not “that” type without being rude? Oh, I’m female myself, by the way.
A) Ah, the perils of being attractive…sigh. I feel you, little one (and no pun at all intended, no no!) In my time it was just the boys but what with section 377 being repealed and all, this is just going to be doubly hard for you young ones!
Hmm, now to your problem. It is a tricky situation to land yourself into. Try making your sexuality clear with subtle hints like gushing over the college hottie – the MALE hottie, mind you! If her affections see no trace of ebbing even after that, you should gently tell her that you would prefer a little less of physical contact. In case that doesn’t work too, then, my dear, there are but two options. Either you tell her on her face without mincing words that you are not interested in her, or get a boyfriend! But word of advice – before you take any extreme steps, do make sure that the poor girl is actually “that type” as you put it and not just an unassuming, over-friendly soul.
Q) I have an absolutely gorgeous cousin and I’ve lately started developing feelings for her. But I’m so scared to act on them because she’s a relation and all… What to do?
A) Aiyyo. Feelings for cousins is not a very good thing, rama rama! For one, if you start a relationship with her and eventually it turns out all wrong, things could get very awkward for both you in the future because you are bound to keep bumping into each other at all family gatherings. Also, I don’t know about your family, but usually a lot of parents wouldn’t encourage inter-family love-shuv so everything will have to be done with the utmost secrecy which can get pretty taxing, my dear. If your feelings for said cousin are particularly strong and you really think being with her is worth taking all the above-mentioned risks however, I suppose you should go for it and talk it out with her. If she feels the same, well and good. But if not, take it with a pinch of salt and save those feelings of yours for the next gorgeous girl you meet (preferably outside the family this time!) All the best!
Creative writing
Fancy yourself as a writer? Looking forward to letting those creative juices flow this year? DU is reputed for its versatile and brilliant ECA. Creative writing as an extra curricular activity in DU does get its share of opportunity if not ample attention.
However, this does not imply that there is no scope for budding writers in the varsity. Numerous intra and inter college activities are conducted throughout the year to hone this talent. Literary associations of colleges, some more active than others, have a major role to play in this. Creative writing competitions are part and parcel of almost every Delhi University festival. An opportunity to showcase your writing prowess is offered in inter university festivals like Antaragini and Rendezvous as well.
English departments throughout the varsity also organize departmental literary fests, where writing competitions are often the highlight of the event. One of the most famous writing competitions in DU is Flair, the literary event conducted by Hindu college. It is a short story writing competition for which entries are invited in October and November and the best entries are published in a journal dedicated to Flair that comes out in July.
An emerging trend in creative writing competitions these days is the use of visual and one line prompts. Creative freedom is offered to the participants as the format ranges from free verse, short story , script writing to poetry.
Inter and intra college writing talent is also inculcated through the medium of college magazines. Students often find a mode of self-expression via these magazines and journals. Some colleges like MirandaHouse and JMC even have a separate prize/scholarship for students who have shone exceptionally in this field.
Truly a writer at heart? Keep an eye out for Wordspill, DU Beat’s upcoming creative writing competition.
With a deadline of December this year, Delhi University’s Institute of Life long learning is preparing to make lectures and some of the best course content available online.
The Human Resource development Ministry has awarded ILLL a 2 crore pilot project to develop e content for 14 papers of seven discipline. The list includes mathematics, botany, chemistry, economics, history and commerce.
The project is a step in the direction of ILLL’s Rs 100 crore proposal to set up a national centre for e-content development for the undergraduate and postgraduate courses under the University Grants Commission’s Model Curricula.
If the plan is successfully implemented, it would bring about a significant change in the field of higher learning as the best content and lectures would be accessible to eligible students throughout the country. Furthermore undergraduate and post -graduate studies would be available under the same roof.
E learning would also enable students of any college to access lectures on different topics. In addition to providing information about a particular topic , the e portal would include video lectures, online quizzes, animations, simulations to help students achieve a better level of understanding.
The e-learning material would include certain value additions to the traditional content such as a glossary of difficult terms, common misconceptions, pop-ups, points to ponder, web links etc
The major concern regarding the implementation of this measure has been that there might be a compromise in the quality of education provided. The varsity is however planning to set up an internal quality assurance cell to assess, monitor and enhance quality standards.
According to Vice -Chancellor, DU, Deepak Pental, “We are not even in the top 10 Asian Universities despite having all the programmes, faculty and infrastructure. There’s need for enhancing quality on all fronts and we’d like to have an internal mechanism for this. We would like to compare our university with global standards for which we may even consider inviting an international agency. The academic council would be consulted for its opinion before we proceed on this.”
Dean of students’ welfare : 27667092
Email: [email protected]
DTC head office: 01128855125 (Scindia House)
JAGORI Safe Delhi Campaign team: 26691219/ 20 ext – 30
Auto rickshaw complaint number : 23378888
Tiffin services at reasonable rates:
North Campus
Sri Sai Caterers,
KD-228 Pritampura
Tel. 9811138031, 011-65135345
Price: Rs. 60 per meal (Only vegetarian food served)
South Campus
Red Chillie Caterers,
15/2, Kalkaji
Tel. 9810733631
Price: Rs. 50 per meal (Vegetarian food)
Rs. 65 per meal (Non Vegetarian food)
NSS chairman (Prof. R.S.Mann): 27667474
Vice Chancellor 27667011, 27667190 27667049
Pro-Vice Chancellor 27667899, 27667758
Dean of Colleges :27667066, 27666642
Director, South Campus 27662865 24116876
Director, Campus Open Learning : 27667041, 27667799
Registrar: 27667853 , 27666350
Controller of Exams: 27667934, 27666348
Toll free anti-ragging helpline number:1800-180-5522
Email is [email protected]