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Amidst the recent decision by the HRD ministry on keeping the cutoff system like the way it is (instead of an entrance test exam), different viewpoints emerge amongst the ‘DU aspirant’ demographic.

There were talks in the academic circle that in the University of Delhi (DU), soon a method of selection based on entrance exams would replace the usually straightforward system of cutoffs. However as of now, hopes for this seem to have been tarnished as HRD minister Prakash Javadekar ruled against the DU administration’s transitionary move, at least for the 2018-19 batch for now. The complicated nature of the matter can be expressed through Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) President Rajib Ray’s statement ‘Neither Vice-Chancellor nor HRD can decide in isolation about the entrance criteria. Procedurally, an ordinance needs to be proposed to the academic council and the decision will be taken thereafter.’
While academicians, deans and professors have accepted this decision in mixed tones, many students who are aspiring to be members of the DU varsity have had more direct opinions. The consensus was in the favour of a change in the system and felt an entrance test would be more useful in picking out the ‘more deserving’ candidates. According to Bhavya Bhadauria, one of the many 12th graders who are aspiring for DU, ‘Entrance tests would be a nice mechanism to curb illegal processes (like teachers in Bihar reportedly helping kids cheat in finals) and to tackle the options the right way. We might not get our desired percentage in the boards but the probability of getting a desired score in an entrance test seems more likely.’

Aspirants also highlight the inequality in mark distributions for different state boards which might create a bias in measuring cutoffs.
On the other side of the scale are students who feel the cutoff process has been more open to diverse and unbiased admissions. Eric Chopra from Delhi wishes to study History Hons at DU after his boards and is fairly supportive of cutoffs. He cites a personal experience to explain his perspective. ‘Back in 11th, I had served as an exam writer for a special kid during his boards. I was just supposed to be a writer but he actually did not know much. Still even in the subjects where I thought he’ll flunk, he still got marks in 80s.’ Eric recalls, pointing out how boards might end up giving good grade points and percentages to even those who in conventional standards might not have ‘studied much’. However, this sparks off a whole another debate about who’s deserving and who’s not.
Interviewing further school students along similar lines, the consensus was of the view that already a lot of effort and time goes into boards for high schoolers. After completing this seemingly and overhyped Herculean task, preparing for another exam to enter their desired college would be additional burden. Hence, a few students are fine if they are chosen in colleges on the basis of their efforts in the last class of school.
Such discussions also bring out new ideas and ‘what if’ situations. Itanagar’s Oshin Gyati feels that it is saddening that some students despite having a good percentage can’t find admission in their desired DU college for not meeting the cutoff by one percent or even a point percent. ‘Admission should be on the basis of cutoffs but an entrance can be conducted for those who can’t match the cutoff by 1-5 percent.’ She gleefully remarks. While it seems like a helpful alternative but sadly, would seem very impractical to implement. Mrinalinee Sharma, a current first year student in Hindu College, feels that interview and application-based admissions should be introduced like other countries.
The possibilities are endless and all these view points are useful in deciding what’s relevant for students and their undergraduate future. However, the administration needs to take in account other factors too like the diverse social and economic backgrounds of the aspirants. Whatever be the case, cutoffs would seem to prevail at least for the next year, till a change kicks in.

Feature Image Credits: The Asian Age

Shaurya Singh Thapa 

[email protected] 

Amidst the recent decision by the HRD ministry on keeping the cutoff system like the way it is (instead of an entrance test exam), different viewpoints emerge amongst the ‘DU aspirant’ demographic. There were talks in the academic circle that in the University of Delhi (DU), soon a method of selection based on entrance exams would replace the usually straightforward system of cutoffs. However as of now, hopes for this seem to have been tarnished as HRD minister Prakash Javadekar ruled against the DU administration’s transitionary move, at least for the 2018-19 batch for now. The complicated nature of the matter can be expressed through Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) President Rajib Ray’s statement ‘Neither Vice-Chancellor nor HRD can decide in isolation about the entrance criteria. Procedurally, an ordinance needs to be proposed to the academic council and the decision will be taken thereafter.’ While academicians, deans and professors have accepted this decision in mixed tones, many students who are aspiring to be members of the DU varsity have had more direct opinions. The consensus was in the favour of a change in the system and felt an entrance test would be more useful in picking out the ‘more deserving’ candidates. According to Bhavya Bhadauria, one of the many 12th graders who are aspiring for DU, ‘Entrance tests would be a nice mechanism to curb illegal processes (like teachers in Bihar reportedly helping kids cheat in finals) and to tackle the options the right way. We might not get our desired percentage in the boards but the probability of getting a desired score in an entrance test seems more likely.’ Aspirants also highlight the inequality in mark distributions for different state boards which might create a bias in measuring cutoffs. On the other side of the scale are students who feel the cutoff process has been more open to diverse and unbiased admissions. Eric Chopra from Delhi wishes to study History Hons at DU after his boards and is fairly supportive of cutoffs. He cites a personal experience to explain his perspective. ‘Back in 11th, I had served as an exam writer for a special kid during his boards. I was just supposed to be a writer but he actually did not know much. Still even in the subjects where I thought he’ll flunk, he still got marks in 80s.’ Eric recalls, pointing out how boards might end up giving good grade points and percentages to even those who in conventional standards might not have ‘studied much’. However, this sparks off a whole another debate about who’s deserving and who’s not. Interviewing further school students along similar lines, the consensus was of the view that already a lot of effort and time goes into boards for high schoolers. After completing this seemingly and overhyped Herculean task, preparing for another exam to enter their desired college would be additional burden. Hence, a few students are fine if they are chosen in colleges on the basis of their efforts in the last class of school. Such discussions also bring out new ideas and ‘what if’ situations. Itanagar’s Oshin Gyati feels that it is saddening that some students despite having a good percentage can’t find admission in their desired DU college for not meeting the cutoff by one percent or even a point percent. ‘Admission should be on the basis of cutoffs but an entrance can be conducted for those who can’t match the cutoff by 1-5 percent.’ She gleefully remarks. While it seems like a helpful alternative but sadly, would seem very impractical to implement. Mrinalinee Sharma, a current first year student in Hindu College, feels that interview and application-based admissions should be introduced like other countries. The possibilities are endless and all these view points are useful in deciding what’s relevant for students and their undergraduate future. However, the administration needs to take in account other factors too like the diverse social and economic backgrounds of the aspirants. Whatever be the case, cutoffs would seem to prevail at least for the next year, till a change kicks in. Feature Image Credits: The Asian Age Shaurya Singh Thapa  [email protected] ]]>

Delhi University colleges released the first cut-off list for undergraduate admissions. Amongst the highest setters of cutoffs are the usual culprits but also colleges like Kalindi College, with a cut-off of 98.50% for the general category for Economics and SGTB Khalsa College with a cut-off of 98.75% for general category for English.

You can check the combined cut-off list released by Delhi University here: Link for the first cut-off

Timings for morning colleges: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Timings for evening colleges: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Sri Ram College of Commerce has released their first cutoff list for B.A (H) Economics and B.Com (H) courses. The highest eligibility criteria is for Economics – 98.25% for the General category.

Category B.Com (H) B.A (H) Economics
General 98 98.25
OBC 95.75 96.25
SC 93.50 95.50
ST 88.25 93
PWD – VH 90 93.75
PWD – HH 90 96
PWD – OH 92.25 96.75
Kashmiri Migrants 88.50 95.25

The college has directed candidates belonging to the General, OBC and SC categories seeking admission to B.Com (H) to report for admissions as per the following schedule dueing 9:00 a.m. and 1 p.m.:

Date General OBC SC
30.06.2016 98.25 and above 96 and above 95 and above
01.07.2016 98 and above 95.75 and above 93.5 and above
02.07.2016 All All All

Candidates belonging to other categories have been advised to contact personally for completing the admission formalities on any day between 30 June and 02 July between 9:00 a.m. and 1 p.m. with the prescribed documents.

 

Shubham Kaushik

[email protected] 

 

 

St. Stephen’s College released its cutoffs for the undergraduate admissions 2016-17. The cutoffs are expectedly sky-high, with 99% being the required percentage for a Commerce student to be able to study English. Economics stands at 96.75% – 98.25% for the general category, which an additional requirement of having scored 90% in Mathematics. The cutoffs have been released amidst a tussle between the DU admissions committee and St. Stephen’s College about the latter not adhering to centralised DU admissions policies. To know what could be the possible repercussions for students, read: DU extends admissions application date.

For a full understanding of St. Stephen’s College’s admissions procedure, read: Guidelines on Admissions Procedure of SSC

Take a look at the course-wise cutoffs below:

To understand the columns, refer to the following key:

NOTE: BFS: Best of Four Subjects Rider: Additional Eligibility Criteria
NOTE: BFS: Best of Four Subjects
Rider: Additional Eligibility Criteria

1. B.A. (Programme)

BAP SSC

2. Economics

Economics SSC

3. Mathematics:

MATH SSC

4. English

English SSC

5. History

History SSC

6. Philosophy

Philosophy SSC

7. Sanskrit

Sanskrit

8. Chemistry

Chemistry

9. Physics

Physics

10. B.Sc Programme (Maths, Phy, Chem)

B.Sc P SSC

11. B. Sc Programme (Maths, Phy, Computer Science)

B.Sc P

Understanding the categories:

1. GEN: General (Non – Christian)

2. SC/ST : Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Non – Christian)

3. CST: General Scheduled Tribe/Dalit

4. CNI: Church of North India

5. CNID: CNI Delhi Diocese

6. COTH: Christian Others

7. PWD: Person with Disabilities

8. CPH: Christian Physically Challenged

9. UR: Urdu Candidate

 

Shubham Kaushik

[email protected]