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DU steps up its Anti-Ragging and Women’s Safety measures

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The University of Delhi, in its supervisory meeting with the officials of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Delhi Metro and Delhi Police on 14th July, 2017, decided upon taking certain measures for making the campus ragging free and more disciplined in the upcoming session.

As per the press release by the University, two Joint Control rooms would be set up in North and South Campus from 20th July to 2nd August, so as to ease the induction process for the freshers. It has also been decided to deploy Delhi Police’s women personnel from the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC) trained in martial arts in the campus for keeping a check on eve-teasing and ragging inside. It has also been decided to provide special defense training to female students.

The measures also include extra vigilance around food joints inside the campus along with picket points providing special assistance to women’s colleges.

Moreover, sensitive areas of the campus have been put under electronic surveillance along with prohibiting unauthorised entry of outsiders in college hostels to curb ragging or any kind of indiscipline inside the campus.

The University has also issued steps on filing a compliant in such cases. This can be done by calling on the national anti-ragging helpline at 1800 180 5522, the North Campus Control Room at 011-27667221 or South Campus Control Room at 011-24119832.

The University’s authorities seem to be taking these measures as a step towards reducing indiscipline, however, it would be interesting to ask why such activities continue in the campus, keeping in view the already existing measures. With mandatory anti-ragging cells in every college and several women’s safety measures already in place, the efficiency and their implementation in campus becomes an important question to be pondered over.

 

Image Credits: The Indian Express

 

Priyal Mahtta
[email protected]

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Cluster Innovation Centre

This DU Startup aims to be the ‘Amazon’ for Socially Conscious Products

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Stories and tales of ‘how hard work will change one’s future and fate’ seemed not be working for the members of a deaf and mute community in Delhi. Their dedication and willingness to fight the society by earning their own bread was all visible in their beautiful handicrafts, paintings, gift items and other items but the filled cupboards told another story of lost hope. Their hard work and products which were supposed to change their lives couldn’t reach the market.

“It was just another appalling sight of the plight that any college student who takes up a project on social welfare will surely encounter”, says Saurabh Patel one of the co-founders of Lithics.in. “The condition was such that even one of the heads of the NGO, which worked for these communities had to cut down on staff and take up a part time job to generate money for the organisations”, he says as he recalls the past times.

Taking lessons from one of their college projects at Cluster Innovation Centre and doing some further research, these students realised that the situation was not much different for other NGOs in the country. After days of pondering over the problem of market access to these communities, they came up with an idea of a creating a social enterprise that could help these marginalised communities sell their products at a full price to its customers. Aiming to end this plight, three students Desh Deepak Dwivedi, Saurabh Patel and Kirti Krishan started Lithics.in in order to provide an online marketplace for helping various NGOs and Co-Operative of weaker sections of the society like organisations of differently abled people, jail inmates, marginalised women from rural areas, local artisans, and war widows among many. Currently being housed in the Technology Business Incubator of Cluster Innovation Centre of the University of Delhi (DU).

Today more than thirty small and big organisations sell their products through their web portal. Ms.Sujata Kumari, the founder of Agrima Foundation who earlier had to cut down on the staff as she was unable to sell her products now has recruited several new of them. “Now I am busy packing products for the orders that I receive from as far as Darbhanga in Bihar to Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. Now I know that I am receiving my due recognition”, says Sujata.

Within six months Lithics has gone forward to win several accolades. From winning the Pollination Project Grant, receiving special appreciation at DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia 2016 and was selected for entrepreneurship training at DO School Brazil. One of the co-founders got selected for Younus and Youth Fellowship program.

“We are planning to expand our reach of NGOs outside Delhi. Currently, we are eyeing towards Mumbai and Bangalore”, says Kirti Krishan who is one of the co-founders.

On being asked about what motivates them to work day in and day out, Desh Deepak says “Many people come across pain of marginalised people and go back by just showing sympathy. We wanted to do something more than that, so we empowered them. Their happiness is our sole currency.”

 

*Special Note

The start-up has made it to the final rounds the International Entrepreneurship for Good Program 2017, Brazil. You can make them win this competition by voting for them by clicking on the link given below.

https://thedoschool.org/ventures/lithics/

(You would need to enter your email and confirm the same on the mail that you receive in your mailbox)

*You can buy any of their products here to support weaker communities to earn a living.

 

Feature Image credits: Lithics.in fb page

 

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

 

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Admissions 2017

Seats slashed for General Category students in Faculty of Law

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Students of the general category are now facing a tough competition ahead. Unlike previous years, the total number of 2,310 seats this year is inclusive of the supernumerary categories, which were reserved for:

  • Students with physical disabilities,
  • Children of war widows
  • Foreign nationals

This has been announced through a notification issued by the university on July 7. Hence, there will be only be 1,033 seats for general category students this year.

Previously, there were 2,310 seats in place which were meant for students in the unreserved category as well as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes. The 310 supernumerary were separated from this. The new notification was announced days after the tussle between the Bar Council of India (BCI) and the Delhi University Law Faculty. The judgement then stated that the varsity must admit 2,310 students this academic session as opposed to BCI’s order of admitting only 1,440 students.

Earlier this year, the BCI stated the university cannot admit more than 1,440 students and that the university must comply with the Legal Education Rules, 2008, and place a limit on the number of students. The case then reached the Delhi High Court, wherein the university was allowed to admit 2,310 students for the LLB programme.

Hence, this year, the general category will have 1,033 seats as compared to 1,167 till last year. Now due to the reduction of seats for unreserved category, those in the reserved category will also face a slash number of seats reserved. The break up has been decided upon as:

  • OBC: reduction of seats from 623 to 552
  • SCs: reduction of seats from 347 to 307
  • STs: reduction of seats from 173 to 153

No details have yet been revealed on how the seats will be divided between the three centres: the Campus Law Centre, Law Centre-I and Law Centre-II.

 

Picture Credits: DUadmissions.com

Joyee Bhattacharya

([email protected])

 

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Admissions 2017

Delhi University fills up 57 per cent of its seats in Undergraduate courses

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With the admission season well underway and the University of Delhi (DU) having released its third cut-off list for undergraduate courses, it has now been confirmed by the Admissions Committee that more than half of its seats are already full. “Over 30,00 out of around 52,000 seats in various DU colleges have already been filled, along with payment of fees,” confirmed Professor Maharaj K. Pandit, the Chairman of DU’s Admissions Committee.  The university has yet to release the fourth and fifth cut-off lists, which are expected to be released on 13th July and 18th July, 2017, respectively.

That within a span of three cut-off lists in a mere fortnight, more than half of the seats should have been filled up, only attests to the university’s ever-growing popularity among students. B.A. (Hons.) English and Economics remain the most sought-after courses. DU clearly is very much a top choice for aspiring undergraduates, as the statistics reveal that several colleges such as Lady Shri Ram (LSR) and Hindu College have already closed the admissions to some of the courses. This year, a marginal dip was recorded in the cut-offs. Yet, the highest percentage, as per the latest and third cut-off issued by DU, remains 98 per cent for B.A. (Hons.) in Psychology in LSR College. By the fifth cut-off, almost all seats are expected to be filled up. As it turns out, the sky-high percentage and quickly disappearing seats which make DU one of the most viable and prestigious education institutions of the country, also make it the hardest to gain entry into. The admission season, so far, has been anything but a smooth-sailing for both the university and the parents and students. But with more and more seats being grabbed and choices in terms of the courses narrowing down, if there were ever a time to hurry in order to make it to DU, it would be now.

Feature Image: DU Beat

 

Deepannita Misra

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Admissions 2017

Nearly 70% of the questions in DU’s Buddhist Studies MPhil exam repeated in the PhD entrance exam: Students claim

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Students claim that almost 70% of the questions that were asked in the Department of Buddhist Studies entrance exam, held on 5th July between 8am to 10pm, were repeated in the PhD entrance exam, held on the same day between 4pm to 6pm. A few students, who appeared for the PhD entrance exam, have filed a written complaint with the University on Friday, 7th July, saying that the paper repeated 36 out of the 50 questions asked. It seemed to be a matter of concern as many students apply for both the courses and those who appeared for the MPhil test had advantage over the others as they had the time to discuss the answers before they appeared for the PhD test.

“It was shocking to learn that questions asked in the MPhil test and the PhD entrance were the same. Students who had applied for both the tests benefitted,” the complaint said. However, the head of the department, KTS Sarao said: “It is not possible that so many questions will be same. Many departments hold same test for admission to both MPhil and PhD but we conduct separate exams. The syllabus is similar so there is a possibility that 3-4 questions are same but not as many as some students are alleging,” and rejected the allegations.

 

With inputs from Hindustan Times.

Image Credits: Hindustan Times

 

Anagha Rakta
[email protected]

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Campus Central

Delhi University to start a new course on ‘Yoga and Meditation’

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Delhi University is all set to start a new certificate course on ‘Yoga and Meditation’ from this year onwards. The course which would begin as a part time course would be a three-month long course. Alternatively, the course can also be done for hundred hours.

The course which all set to begin from the 1st of July has invited applications by floating the application form online. The form for the course can be found here.  The form for the course needs to be submitted at Gandhi Bhawan on or before 29th June, 2017.

The course will be taught for four days every week namely Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The time for the classes would be from 3PM to 5pm on each of these days. For any further regarding the course, aspirants can contact Gandhi Bhavan office which is located at 32, Chhatra Marg, University of Delhi, Delhi-7. They can also mail their queries regarding the course to [email protected].

Gandhi Bhawan is working as an institute under the University of Delhi, dedicated to the study of the words of Mohandas K. Gandhi. The centre has organised several initiatives to propagate the ideas of Gandhian values and practises.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

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Admissions 2017

Delhi University delays its first cut off, revises admissions schedule for merit based UG courses

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Lately, Delhi University had drawn the ire of students for setting multiple goalposts in its post graduate admissions, nearly postponing the schedule twice. In a latest move, it has revised its admissions schedule for undergraduate merit based courses. In a newly published notice on the University website the admissions schedule for undergraduate courses have been revised and the first cut off list which was scheduled to be out on 20th June has been delayed to 24th June. The first cut offs and admissions for the same will now begin from 24th June and will continue till 28th June.

This would be followed by the second cut off, which will start admitting students from 1st July to 4th July. The third and fourth cut off will begin and end on 7th July to 10th July and 13th to 15th respectively.  The fifth cut off would be out on 18th July and will continue to admit students till 19th July. Other than the five cut off lists, further lists will be declared by the University based on the vacancy of seats in the colleges.

While the document verification and approval of admissions would continue from 9:30 AM to 1:30 AM in morning colleges, the timing for evening colleges is from 4PM to 7PM. After the admissions are approved, the applicant would be required to log in to the portal and pay the admission fees by the 12:00 noon of the next day of the given deadline.

This move will affect students who have not yet taken admissions in any other institute and are waiting for the cut offs. “It is quite frustrating as we already lost a lot of time, we are left unsure of joining any other universities for backup”, said Naimisha, an outstation student who has already planned her trip to Delhi.

 

Image Credits: www.du.ac.in

 

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

 

 

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Faculty of Law

Delhi High Court hears plea to stop the reduction of Delhi University’s LLB seats

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On May 31st, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Centre, the University of Delhi (DU), and the Bar Council of India (BCI), seeking direction not to reduce the LLB seats in the University. The current intake of students is 2,310. Thus, the Delhi High Court asked the BCI to consider DU’s representation for increasing the seats in its LLB course and to take a decision by the evening of June 6th.

DU had sought permission to increase its seats for the law course, claiming it had improved its infrastructure and increased the strength of its teaching faculty. The Bench observed that the BCI had not capped the seats due to the lack of infrastructure, and therefore its improvement wouldn’t entitle DU to seek an increase in seats offered for the course. It, however, allowed DU to advertise for only 1,440 seats for its law course, like last year and said it would be subjected to the outcome of a plea seeking an increase of seats to 2,310. The order came during a hearing of a petition by lawyer Joginder Kumar Sukhija, who claimed that many students, especially graduates, would be affected if the seats were reduced. The petition added that by reducing the number of seats, the public money, which is used to provide a grant to DU, was not being put to optimal use.

Last year, the DU students protested after reports surfaced on the suggestion by the BCI to trim down the number of seats for admission to the 2016-17 batches for LLB seats at the three law centers. Since 2014, the Law Faculty has been in trouble with the BCI for not following the council’s rules regarding infrastructure support and student intake.

The PIL sought a direction to strike down the clause 5 A of Schedule-III of Rules of Legal Education 2008 enacted by the BCI, claiming it was capricious and in blatant violation of fundamental rights. Under Rule 5 A, a law college can admit only 300 students each year. As the varsity has three law centers, it can have a total of 900 seats only. But, as an exception, BCI has allowed the varsity to admit additional 180 seats per center for reserved categories, the lawyers’ body told the court. Hence, the law aspirants are hoping for an increase in the number of seats in DU. After all, 2000 students should be accommodated if adequate infrastructure is made available to those aspiring to enroll in the varsity.

 

Feature Image Credits: Bar & Bench

 

Radhika Boruah

[email protected]

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News

Low pass percentage of BSEB students reflects in DU Undergraduate Registrations

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The extremely poor and low pass percentage of class XII students studying under the Bihar State Education Board (BSEB) has reflected in this year’s undergraduate courses’ admission registrations in University of Delhi (DU). With around 65% of the total appearing students failing miserably to pass the exam, the overall pass percentage for this year remained abysmally low at 35% in BSEB.

A drastic dip in DU admission registrations from BSEB students has been recorded as compared to the last year, with a mere 1272 registrations coming this year, as compared to last year’s 4317 registrations, forming even less than 50% of year 2016’s total BSEB admission registrations. While the results of Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education, commonly called the UP Board still remain unannounced, students appearing for XII standard examinations under UP Board  contributed 5145 registrations towards the last week of DU admission registrations. Applications from this Board too, mount up to an extremely small number as compared to a massive 21606 registrations in 2016. However, the highest number of registrations has been received from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Interestingly, the registrations from Punjab State Education Board have recorded a hike as compared to the previous year. The number has unexpectedly increased despite the Board not moderating marks this year, contrary to 2016.

The statistics have, every year, proven a direct relation between the efficiency of the Education Boards and the number of students making through the sky rocketing cut-offs of Delhi University colleges. According to students and faculty at DU, it is usually difficult for students studying under state boards, especially those of UP and Bihar, to reserve a seat in DU colleges, as compared to CBSE students. Records and observations continue to prove the falling efficiency of UP and Bihar State Education Boards.

With only a week left for UG admission registrations to close, no surge in the number of applications from BSEB or UP Board is expected according to the faculty at DU.

 

Image Credits: Press Trust of India

Priyal Mahtta

[email protected]

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Admissions 2017

In the Midnight Hour, Delhi University uploads its UG admissions Bulletin

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After days of wait, large crowds of students flooding open days with hundreds of queries, Delhi University has finally uploaded its much sought Admissions Bulletin 2017-18 for Undergraduate Courses. Although the link of the bulletin was provided in the UG admissions page from the morning itself, but link of the PDF file became inactive after some time. Late Saturday night, University uploaded its admissions bulletin.

The bulletin clearly explains the details of how to register for the online admissions, step by step. It even discusses clearly with examples various topics like how to calculate your best of four. Other than the normal information which the University had earlier shared through its open days, some new information like list of colleges providing concession to girl candidates have been added to the information bulletin.

Here is a brief account of which section you should access to clear your doubts.

  • Registration details: Page no. 1 to 2.
  • Admission Procedure: 3-12
  • Programs offered: 13-14
  • Requirements for admissions: 14-17
  • Program specific requirements: 18- 27
  • College wise Course list and their fees: 28 (Annexture I)
  • Reservations rules and procedures: 29-37
  • Sports and ECA quota and guidelines: 38-43
  • Admissions in non-regular courses like NCWEB, SOL: 49
  • How to calculate best of four: Annexture 2(Page no. 89)
  • Cut off list of previous year: 169

The Admissions bulletin is expected to resolve most of the doubts and queries of the aspirants. Students can also check page no. 63 to 68 to get answers of the frequently asked questions. If still, students face any doubts they can contact the grievance offices in colleges or University’s grievance cell in the conference centre.

You can find the entire PDF document of the bulletin in this link.

For any other doubts, you can message us on our FB page.

Do tune in for our FB live which in which we discuss admissions queries and doubts with deputy dean, student welfare of University of Delhi today.

 

Image credits: www.du.ac.in

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

 

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