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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 

Read Also: Delhi University to Introduce Biannual Admissions Next Year

Afza Khan 

[email protected]

At DU’s centenary celebration, the PM brought up the fact that there are more girls enrolled at DU than boys. However, the classrooms paint a rather different picture.

The University of Delhi recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Large-scale events were organised, the Prime Minister and Education Minister were invited as chief guests. In his speech, the Prime Minister congratulated DU on its 100th anniversary and highlighted the fact that more girls than boys are enrolled in DU classes. But do our classrooms deliver an identical picture?

According to The Indian Express, DU’s enrolment has dropped to a five-year low, slipping from 73,374 students in 2018-2019 to 64,915 in 2022-2023. Girls’ enrolment in UG courses plunged by 37.75 percent this year, from 54,818 in 2021 to 34,120 in 2022-2023, whereas male enrollment fell by just 1,585, from 32,380 in 2021 to 30,795 this year. Overall, girls made up 52.5 percent of the entire undergraduate student body at DU this year, compared to 62.87 percent in 2021-22. 

Even before the significant drop in enrollment, these figures demonstrate that “DU has more girls enrolled than boys”. However, what is crucial to note here is the concentration of female students. The majority of these 52.5% female students are enrolled in SOLs, or women’s colleges. If one focuses on regular courses in co-ed colleges, female students in some colleges account for less than one-third of the overall student population.

According to an All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report, the gender gap in UG programmes worsened following the pandemic. In Kirori Mal College, there are 28 girls* in BSc. (H). Mathematics, 2021-2024, a batch of 104 students. The same is true for the majority of batches. In an interview, former principal of KMC Vibha Singh Chauhan blamed the absence of a girls’ hostel as a major reason for such a wide gap in the sex ratio. 

However, the case of Hindu College presents a completely different scenario. Hindu College, which has a girl’s hostel, only has 39% female students. The administration fails to provide a valid explanation behind the skewed gender ratio. A number of DU colleges started to relax female student’s cut-offs by 1%. While Sri Aurobindo College saw a 10% rise in female student enrollment following its implementation, other institutions observed no substantial change.

However, with the introduction of CUET, the implementation of this relaxation is hidden. Not only that, but the puzzling cycle of CUET and admission via CSAS (Common Seat Allocation System) also plays a significant role. Most female students from marginalised backgrounds and smaller towns struggle to get a quality education. With new hurdles planted, many end up giving up on their dreams. In an article by Feminism In India (FII), Sharda Dixit, a retired school principal, said:

The problem was especially observed amongst students coming from financially weaker backgrounds, the ones who were not able to avail the pricey coaching and the preparation guidebooks. This led to the exclusion of these students from the race and crushed their dreams underfoot. The CUET is a device to deprive students of their basic right to education.

Another major issue is women’s safety in the city and on campus. Economist Girija Broker estimated in her paper that, “for a 3% annual decrease in the probability of being raped, women attending Delhi University are willing to go to a college in the bottom 50% rather than one in the top 20%”. Broker conducted a survey of 2,700 DU students and observed that most women prefer travelling by car or the metro, even if it costs more or takes more time. On the other hand, bus is the primary form of transportation for men.

All of these studies, articles, and interviews have one thing in common: the university’s acceptance of the existence of a gender gap for the sake of it. Instead of concentrating on the reasons for such a large gender gap, even after 100 years of existence, DU is preoccupied with crafting its own hazy gender equality image. With the gender gap widening as a result of CUET, the question grows, “Are we progressing forward or backward?”

Read also: The Unrepresented- Women and Student Politics In India

Featured Image Credits: TOI

Dhruv Bhati
[email protected]

According to the official schedule, registration for Spot Round began on 29 August at 5 pm via the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS) Portal under the ongoing admission process for Delhi University.

Delhi University administration started the registration for Spot Round of undergraduate admissions. Students can register on the admissions website, admission.uod.ac.in.

In the spot admissions round 1, declaration of allocations was done on 1st September (5 pm), and candidates will have time till September 3, 4.59 pm to accept the allocated seats.

Following that colleges will have time from September 2 (10 am) till 4.59 pm September 4, to verify and approve online applications. Last date for online payment of admission fees is scheduled for September 5, 4.59 pm.

The steps for application process include first visiting the official website, admission.uod.ac.in. Then by clicking on the UG admission 2023 link, the page will be redirected. The next step is to fill in all the requirements, incorporating all personal details and educational qualifications. Next review the application and pay the application fee. Finally, submit the application and download the application for future use.

“In its first round, a total of 202416 eligible candidates were considered for allocation based on their preferences of programme and college combinations. A total of 85853 allocations have been done in the First CSAS round itself. This includes an allocation to all programmes in all colleges in UR, SC, ST, OBC(NCL), EWS and two supernumerary quotas, PwBD and Kashmiri Migrants. As many as 7042 candidates got their first preference. About 22000 candidates have been allocated a seat from their first five preferences.” -ANI Report

During the first round seat allotment round, over 3,04,699 students registered the CSAS 2023 portal, among those, 2,45,235 students submitted their CSAS DU 2023 application form and 59,464 didn’t submit their application forms.

Image Source: Business Today

Read Also: DU Witnesses 87% Seats being Secured in the First Round of UG Admissions

Aanya Mehta

[email protected]