Amidst the haul of the college admissions season, as students scramble to secure seats and colleges navigate the complexities of selection, St. Stephen’s College is facing serious allegations from the university itself for exceeding seats for Christian candidates.
Delhi University has publicly accused St. Stephen’s of exceeding the permissible quota for Christian candidates during the admission process. While Principal Principal John Verghese has refused to comment on the given situation, the notifications on the official college website provide some clarifications.
According to one notification,
“St Stephen’s College has admitted this year, the sanctioned number of candidates, 5% over that number and special categories including that of the Single Girl Child in every programme of study offered in the College”.
It further mentions, conceding the allegation of exceeding the quota limit that,
“Despite a request that additional seats should not be allotted to the College this year (as in the previous two years the College had been allotted 20% and 10% respectively in excess to the sanctioned seats), it was finally agreed upon that only 5% extra seats will be allotted to College.”
Thus, the college asserts that its actions were in compliance with the agreed-upon guidelines.
In a separate notice dated 30th August, St. Stephen’s has requested speedy access to the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) portal for its admitted Christian candidates, a request that seems unlikely to be granted as the university’s further concerns remain unaddressed.
Delhi University in its review of the received college’s admission list, has pointed out that well-qualified candidates with sufficient Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores have been unable to secure seats in popular courses, such as B.Sc. (Hons) programs. The university also highlighted that seats in popular programmes such as B.Sc (H) Chemistry and B.Sc (H) Physics, remain empty despite the availability of eligible candidates meeting the required criteria.
St Stephen’s responded by releasing a list of Christian candidates who have been offered admission into the college for the current academic year on their website.
St Stephen’s was also in the news earlier last week when 6 students were granted provisional admission to the college by the Delhi High Court after their admission was denied despite clearing the cut-off due to a “policy dispute” between the college and the university.
Such discrepancies have led to delays in proceeding with the allocation for the University. As tensions between the university and the college escalate, incoming students find themselves caught in the middle, facing uncertainty and missing out on crucial orientation days. The confusion has left many students questioning their efforts, as they navigate the complexities of the admission process, only to be stalled by bureaucratic delays and disputes before even stepping into their first college class.
Featured Image Credits: Sunday Guardian
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Afza Khan