After carrying out relentless searches, Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani’s bachelor’s degree seems to have consigned to oblivion by the University of Delhi. Failing to furnish documentary evidence of Irani’s educational qualifications, the Assistant Registrar of School of Open Learning (SOL), DU, Mr. O.P. Tanwar was quoted as saying, “1996 documents related to her BA are yet to be found,” as he addressed the court.
The varsity’s move came in response to the court’s earlier order for summoning the minister’s documents from its School of Open Learning department on the allegation of a discrepancy in the affidavits she filed in 2004 and 2011. While her 2004 affidavit claims that she completed her BA in 1996, another affidavit by her for the 2011 Rajya Sabha poll from Gujarat mentions her highest qualification as B.Com (Part I) from DU.
The case, which came into limelight following a complaint by Ahmer Khan, a freelance writer, Smriti Irani’s educational status has been in question ever since. The complainant had alleged that the HRD minister had deliberately produced false affidavits and thus is liable for punishment under relevant sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code) and under section 125A of Representation of the People Act (RPA). Section 125A of RPA deals with penalty for filing false affidavit and entails a jail term of upto six months or fine or both.
The Assistant Registrar also informed the court that Irani’s Class 12 documents, submitted along with the admission form of B.Com (H) course, were yet to be found. He was however quick to add that “verification must have been done before the admission”, as he was quoted by a national daily.
However, it seems like faking one’s educational degree is the new fad that’s become increasingly popular with our politicians and PM Narendra Modi has become the recent victim of this trend.
Talking about the issue, Teacher Representative of Executive Council, University of Delhi, Ms. Abha Dev Habib told us, “Whether it is the degree of the HRD Minister or the PM, it will be unfortunate if they make claims of having a degree they don’t hold in the first place. And it is strange that the university doesn’t have records. There is definitely pressure but this is nothing less than a blatant excuse. To me, degree doesn’t matter, but the ministers are the role models for the general public and information must be furnished by the varsity on the same.”
Commenting on the current state of the Ministry of Education’s working, she added, “I am not disappointed that she doesn’t have a degree, what I am disappointed with is the continuos interference of the ministry in the education system. The hasty implementation of CBCS system in less than 7 months is the biggest case in point. It is all about rational thinking and a scientific temperament to be able to take decisions, degree doesn’t matter here.” Also talking about the recent controversy surrounding the degree of PM Modi, she further connoted, ” The PM wants to talk to the nation on Mann Ki Baat but what perturbs me is his silence on issues of importance. Whatever the degree may be, it should be truthfully embraced.”
The court also asked SDM of north Delhi to bring documents filed by Irani with the affidavit for contesting 2004 polls from Chandni Chowk constituency here and fixed the matter for further hearing on June 6. The pivotal question here however remains whether power gives an easy escape route to politicians to distort their educational qualifications.
We previously did a report on the suspension of 5 officials of School of Open Learning for leaking documents related to the HRD Minister. You may take a look at the report here.
The University of Delhi is a dynamic place to be, and records new highs with various achievements but also new lows with several controversial issues taking place every year. With another academic session coming to its end, we bring to you another edition of The Best and Worst of Delhi University series.
This academic year has seen personalities from various walks of life, who have achieved a remarkable measure of success in their respective fields, sharing their thought – provoking ideas with Delhi University’s student community. From stand-up comedy to business, politics and film-making, visiting personalities have provided insights into their work and lives, leaving valuable advice and enriching the college experience of students. We take a look at the well – known personalities who visited DU this year, contributing to the potpourri of cultures, visions and ideas that the University embodies.
1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kapil Dev, Varun Agarwal and other stars at SRCC Youth Conference
September 2015: The annual Youth Conference at SRCC, with the theme ‘And the victor carries on’ saw the presence of several eminent personalities. An interactive session with cricketing legend Kapil Dev revealed his love for the sport as he encouraged students to follow their passion. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui spoke about his early days and struggles as a budding actor in Bombay. Founder of Alma Mater, Varun Agarwal, shared his insights on his book ‘How I Met Anu Aunty and Co-Founded a Million Dollar Company’ and motivated the audience to refrain from procrastinating. Comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath of the ‘Pretentious Movie Reviews’ fame kept the audience engaged with his wise cracks on enthusiatic festival celebrations. Abish Mathew’s song on how youngsters shouldn’t waste their lives over drugs left the audience in splits.
September 2015: Former IPS officer, social activist, and politician, Kiran Bedi, was the Chief Guest at Indraprastha College for Women, as part of the Pink Chain Campaign, an initiative by Punarjeevan to spread awareness on breast cancer. She emphasised on the need to prioritise health and check-ups, keeping in mind the busy schedules of the youth in current times.
3. Markandey Katju and Subramanian Swamy at KMC’s ‘India 2020’
September 2015: Former Supreme Court Justice and Press Council of India Chairman, Markandey Katju’s address flagged off ‘India Vision 2020’, organised by the Round Table society at Kirori Mal College. He spoke of the significance of a modern, rational, scientific and inquisitive mind, with references to several anecdotes and instances from history. He lamented the pitiable state of affairs of the parliament, bureaucracy and media in India. Former Cabinet Minister Subramanian Swamy also addressed the gathering. Replete with witticisms, he put forth the hope for India as a developed country, provided we get our act together.
4. Abish Mathew at Entreyug’15, Jesus and Mary College
November 2015: Comedian Abish Mathew’s rib-tickling act was an entertaining conclusion to Entreyug’15, conducted by Entrepreneurship Cell, Jesus and Mary College, in collaboration with the E-Cell, Delhi College of Art and Commerce. Following speakers like Vineet Taneja, CEO of Micromax, and Rajat Jain, former MD of Walt Disney, Abish Mathew enthralled the audience with his typical brand of humour.
December 2015: Shri Ram College of Commerce hosted Google CEO, Sundararajan Pichai, who addressed a crowd of over 2000 students, in a session moderated by commentator, Harsha Bhogle. Mr. Pichai emphasised upon the importance of doing something that one is excited by, and using every opportunity to reinvent ourselves. He shared his vision for Google and his hope of making technology a one-stop solution to every problem. On being asked about his 12th standard percentage, Pichai quipped that it would not be enough to get him into SRCC.
6. Najeeb Jung, Papon and East India Company at Ramjas College’s centennial celebrations
January 2016: Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung stressed the need to think freely as citizens of a country that is progressing, as the Chief Guest on the first day of the celebration held to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Ramjas College. Papon, founding member of Assamese band East India Company, enthralled the audience along with his band, with their lively performance and energetic beats.
January 2016: The Entrepreneurship Cell, St. Stephen’s College, organised ‘The Journey,’ a talk by film actor Boman Irani. In the course of the inspirational talk, Mr. Irani spoke about his anecdotal journey and the power of dedication, perseverance, and dreaming big. His unique tongue-in-cheek style of humour, along with personal experiences, kept the audience hooked onto every word of his motivational address.
Boman Irani
8. Durjoy Dutta and Ravinder Singh at SRCC’s Literary Festival
February 2016: Zephyr, the Literary Festival conducted by the English Literary Society at Shri Ram College of Commerce, saw author Durjoy Dutta explaining to the audience his initial dreams of becoming a writer and its gradual fulfillment. Bestselling author Ravinder Singh of ‘I Too Had a Love Story’ fame motivated the students to pursue their dreams, through his interactive session with the audience.
February 2016: The annual fest, Odyssey 2016, was held by the History and Political Science society, Shri Ram College of Commerce, with the theme ‘The changing face of Indian society – the good and the bad.’ The inaugural talk was by Mrs. Sheila Dixit, former Chief Minister of Delhi, whose interactive session with the audience saw her facing questions on the comparative policies of the current government in Delhi to that of her government.
10. Prof. Irfan Habib and Anjolie Ela Menon at the Academic Conclave, St. Stephen’s College
February 2016: Ancient and medieval Indian history stalwart, Professor Irfan Habib, addressed the Academic Conclave as its plenary speaker on the day of its commencement, on the topic ‘The National Movement and its Legacy.’ He quipped that, “After 1947, every coward can be a patriot.”
Leading contemporary artist, Anjolie Ela Menon, discussed the history of the patronage of art.
11. Adi Godrej, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Nitin Gadkari and others at the SRCC Business Conclave
February 2016: SRCC’s Business Conclave saw a host of eminent personalities addressing the audience. In his session, BJP party leader Nitin Gadkari spoke of the importance of the youth in nation – building. Sunil Bharti Mittal, CEO of Bharti Enterprises, shared stories of his struggles and success. Medha Patkar, an activist for Narmada Bachao Andolan highlighted the importance of human resource saying, “Money alone cannot give you the suit on your body, the paper we use and even the currency notes.”
Adi Godrej, from Godrej Group, spoke on how fundamental enforced legislation is to the growth of the country but how often too many rules and regulations can also slow down the process of growth. The concluding speaker at the 3-day event was actor Rishi Kapoor. When asked about Bollywood, he said, “The business of cinema is huge. The only entertainment after cinema is sex.”
Eminent personalities at the SRCC Business Conclave
February 2016: Bollywood superstar and Hans Raj Alumni Shahrukh Khan visited his college in the month of February to promote his much anticipated flick- Fan. The actor was also felicitated with the degree of graduation which he completed back in 1988.
March 2016: Directors Mira Nair and Onir visited St. Stephen’s College for a screening of their respective films, Reluctant Fundamentalist and I am Omar. The screening, held by the Gender Studies Cell, St. Stephen’s College, in collaboration with Engendered, was followed by an interactive session with the two directors. Mira Nair spoke of the “need to express oneself with absolute boldness.” “We must tell our stories for, if we don’t, nobody will,” she pointed out. Onir also spoke of the importance of self-expression irrespective of whether or not it pleases anybody else. “An artist cannot paint their canvas according to what pleases everybody,” he said.
The University of Delhi is a dynamic place to be, and records new highs with various achievements but also new lows with several controversial issues taking place every year. With another academic session coming to its end, we bring to you another edition of The Best and Worst of Delhi University series.
In the bygone year, University of Delhi not only witnessed a number of achievements by its faculty members, but it was also ranked among the best universities in the world. Let us take a look at what the varsity achieved in the year gone by :
1. DU chemistry professor honoured by Indian Science Congress
January 2015: The Indian Science Congress honoured Professor Diwan S. Rawat of Department of Chemistry with the ‘Professor RC Shah Memorial Lecture Award’ for his contributions in the area of Medicinal Chemistry. Professor Rawat’s work is associated mainly with the development of small organic molecules for the treatment of fatal diseases such as Malaria, Bacterial infection, Cancer, and Parkinson.
September 2015: Professor Rajeev Gupta of Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, was honoured with the Bronze Medal (2016) by the Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) for his contributions to research in Chemistry. Professor Gupta works on several interdisciplinary fields such as coordination chemistry, bio-inorganic chemistry, supra-molecular chemistry, designed materials, catalysis, and inorganic medicinal chemistry.
3. DU wins all matches at inter-university chess tournament
October 2015: Delhi University students won all 12 matches at the Inter University North Zone Chess Tournament held from the 5th to the 9th of October 2015 at Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, defeating 26 teams from across the region to win the prestigious competition yet again. The team comprised of 4 students from the Shri Ram College of Commerce and 2 from Hindu College.
4. DU ranked among the top 20 universities in the world for 12 subjects
March 2016: Delhi University saw a representation in 12 subject-wise QS World University rankings that were released on 22nd March. Development Studies continues to be the leading champion though it slipped from 17th position last year to 18th this year. The subjects include Anthropology, Development Studies, Chemistry, Sociology, Geography, History and Archaeology, Modern Languages, Physics, Economics, Mathematics, Biological Sciences and Computer Science and Information Systems.
5. Chief Economist of World Bank conferred the first “Professor A.L. Nagar Fellow” award
April 2016: Professor Kaushik Basu, Chief Economist of the World Bank, who taught at Delhi School of Economics (DSC) for more than two decades, was conferred the first “Professor A.L. Nagar Fellow” award at the the aforementioned institution on the 1st of April 2016. Professor Basu highlighted the Bank’s objectives towards India and compared it with the other economies of the world in his address. He forecasted high growth rates for the nation in the upcoming years and also elaborated on the challenges that lie ahead for our country.
The University of Delhi is a dynamic place to be, and records new highs with various achievements but also new lows with several controversial issues taking place every year. With another academic session coming to its end, we bring to you another edition of The Best and Worst of Delhi University series.
The first part of the series is a walk through the new additions to the hall of fame of Delhi University where students and societies who have done the university proud find their name:
1. LSR’s ‘Basta’ presents business model at UN Headquarters
October 2015: Basta, aimed at creating employement for women, is a venture started by three students of Lady Sri Ram College for Women. They recycle and refashion waste flex banners into bags and pouches. The project was chosen from 300 contestants to be presented at the UN Headquarters, NYC.
October 2015: Second year Political Science student from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Himadrish Suwan, was awarded the National RTI Awareness Award for his work in the field of RTI activism. Suwan has filed over 100 RTI’S and also writes for many dailies and weeklies.
3. Social entrepreneurship model by SRCC students presented at UN
October 2015: Shreya Gupta and Harsh Agrawal, two students from SRCC and curators of project Sanjeevani, presented their model at the UN Headquarters. This was a part of the ‘Change the World Internship’, structured by US based Not for Profit organization, ‘A Million for a billion.’
October 2015: Mrityunjay Sharma, a student of third year B.Com (hons.) from SRCC set a Guinness World Record by playing a piano for 130 hours continuously. The record was earlier held by Polish pianist Romuald Koperski for 103 hours. Mrityunjay was awarded 1 lakh rupees by the college on achieving this feat.
5. Delhi University’s very own Modern Pentathlon Athlete
December 2015: Ragha Jamwal, a History student from DCAC, attained the second rank and was selected as an Indian qualifier for Olympics at Asian Championship’15 held in Beijing. Pentathlon is an infusion of five extremely difficult disciplines of sports including Fencing, Swimming, Pistol-Shooting, Show Jumping (Horse-Riding) and Running.
6. Youngest recipient of the APJ Abdul Kalam award from DU
January 2016: Second year Political Science student from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Himadrish Suwan, was honored with the APJ Abdul Kalam award. The award is given to honour achievements towards social service and a clean, green, healthy and educated India. Himadrish became the youngest recipient of the award.
January 2016: Rene Verma, a student of History from St. Stephen’s College, received the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. She wishes to study two Masters is subject programs, Women’s Studies and Film Aesthetics.
8. KMCstudent plans to travel solo along the Golden Quadrilateral
March 2016: Kirori Mal College student, Keshav Kumar, embarked on a 6100 km journey to visit 13 states and 174 cities in 13 days. Through this journey, he seeks to find answers to questions about women’s safety and empowerment. He’ll also be visiting over 20 colleges to conduct talks and sessions with the students.
9. Applied Psychology student makes it to WSEN Global Summit
March 2016:Sadiq Mobeen, a student from South Campus, has been selected for the World Student Environment Network’s 9th Global Summit: Sustainability Together. The summit is being organized by University of Sussex and Keele University in UK from 24 – 30 July.Read the full article here: Applied Psychology student makes it to WSEN Global Summit
10. Venky student wins gold at US Open World Championship for Karate
April 2016: Having recently won a gold medal for Karate at the US Open World Championship 2016, Bhaskar Sen, a student of Sri Venkateswara College, juggles engineering and his passion for Karate at the same time. He is a two-time gold medalist at the prestigious event.
11. Priyadarshini Chatterjee wins FBB Femina Miss India 2016
April 2016: Priyadarshini Chatterjee of Hindu College was crowned Femina Miss India 2016. She will be representing India at Miss World 2016 soon. This is the third consecutive time that Delhi University student has been crowned at the pageant.
To be very honest, most people who’ve been posting how they are going to miss college post graduation are lying. The reasons might differ, but they’re lying alright. I agree there are a few people who are legit distressed about graduating (already?!) but a few of us are actually very glad that this is happening. I am just concerned that I don’t see more of people like that. Instead, all I have on my news feed are emotional messages about how transforming the past three years have been. Personally, they sucked. Somewhat yes. Maybe truly.
We all entered this phase of our lives with bright eyes and high hopes of getting a taste of what it’s like being in the ‘real world.’ Instead, regulations even worse than our school life greeted us. While the course curriculum remains as weak as ever (FYUP, give me that one year of my life back), placements are as ineffective as the administration even in some of the ‘better colleges,’ and extra-curriculars are restricted to dramatics and dancing.
I know everyone knows this already but what I don’t understand is how easily people are choosing to ignore that as we are graduating. This was not the ‘DU experience’ I was given hopes for, this will not be why I’ll ever put my younger sibling through all the Class 12 boards’ pressure. It’s simply not worth it.
While there are opportunities for you to build on your talents and creative genius in several extra-curricular activities, they are not the only parts of an amazing collegiate experience. Other factors like academics, infrastructure, volunteering opportunities, skill-training workshops, business seminars and conferences are all overshadowed and dwarfed each year. That is not acceptable.
I know leaving an institution is always a tricky affair because as you leave a certain place you also have to bid goodbye to a regular sense of comfort and certainty. Personally, I could not be more ready for it. By that, I don’t mean even slightly, I have my life plans all figured out. Thanks to DU and the FYUP debacle, some of us may take longer to get our plans right. What I mean instead is that being in as ‘floopy’ an environment as DU has opened my eyes to see beyond just the ‘stage moments’ of an institution.
As another batch of students enter Delhi University in the next semester, I want to caution them to proceed with the utmost care. Don’t just give into the media hype of being in Delhi or in DU. Decide your future course of action carefully and base it on your research. Look for the courses you’re applying to (hopefully you’ll get to do them all unlike the FYUP batch) and look for the academic faculty in colleges. These are important decisions, and an informed decision can only make the next three years of your life (consequently your next 5 years and 10 years and so on) better.
Just saying.
Signing off, your overly enthusiastic about graduating Senior,
As the new session inches closer and the admission procedure is about to begin, University of Delhi has introduced a few changes in the admission procedure for Post Graduate courses. The University will be opening five new admission centres outside Delhi for the convenience of outstation candidates. These centres will be conducting entrance exams and will be set up in Jammu, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, and Nagpur.
The Admission process, along with submission of fees will also be conducted online, on the suggestion of an 18 member committee that formulates rules for Post Graduate admissions. The suggestions will be sent to the Vice Chancellor for approval.
DU has reserved 50% of the seats for direct admissions when the aspirants have graduated from DU. The remaining 50% seats will be filled through entrance tests and interviews.
The University will also be giving a cutoff relaxation to OBC aspirants. The cutoff will be upto 10% lower than the cutoff for students from the General category. It is also likely that the subjective entrance tests will be replaced by objective tests. The committee is thinking about replacing the subjective tests with multiple choice questions. This is to ensure transparency in the evaluation of these tests.
The admission process is expected to begin towards the end of April and the registrations will be winded up by mid May. The Entrance tests will be held in the beginning of June.
An off-campus girls’ college located in Janakpuri (since 1998), Bharati College has a lot to explore about. Founded by the Delhi Administration as Bharati Mahila College in September 1971, it started functioning from the premises of a Government Senior Secondary School for Boys located on Link Road in Karol Bagh. Initially, the College offered courses only in the B.A. Programme (then known as B.A. Pass) and a few vocational courses like Office Management and Tailoring & Dress Designing.
It has since expanded to include honours courses in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, History, Political Science, Economics, Maths and Commerce. Under DC courses, students can opt for Human Resource Development, Marketing Management, Human Development & Childhood studies and Hindi Patrakarita- Jansanchar. Part-time self-financing courses in foreign languages such as French, German and Russian and DOEACC level computer courses are also open to the regular students of the College as well as outsiders.
The college entrance has beautiful gardens to rejuvenate the mood, a huge sports ground for cricket, badminton, football etc. and parking facility is available inside the college premises for all. The building has three floors with an air-conditioned top floor. Auditorium and hostel building are under construction which will attract more outsiders. PG facility is available in Virender Nagar which is just opposite the college.
The college has well-equipped air-conditioned two-storeyed library with a separate reading section and computer lab. Special attention is given to differently abled students with facilities like separate parking area, washrooms, rampage, signboards and books in braille scripts. Canteen has food for all with rates that suits everyone’s pocket. Students’ don’t miss out the routine of walking to the canteen everyday to check the ‘special menu’.
The central lawn is the students’ favourite place to sit and enjoy. Being an all girls’ college the protective environment gives you the liberty to follow the latest fashion trends from suits to mini-skirts anyday and everyday. Our college has one among the best fashion societies, Elantre and various other active societies. Although an all girls’ college it provides great exposure and opportunities equivalent to any other college of Delhi University and will soon become a name in itself.
Guest post written by Garima Choudhary from Bharati College
Delhi University is setting a trend by going digital and how! After the news broke out that admissions this year are likely to go completely online, the varsity is now set to issue admit cards to students online too!
The ‘e-Admit Cards’ as they are being called, is a test for the university’s capability to go paperless with its immensely important examination functions. After a number of speculations and cynicism, our insiders tell us, a University notice will soon be made public on the DU website, directing all the colleges to maintain a digital record of students examination details and issue the hall tickets by 1 May 2016.
As confirmed by the Examination Committee of University of Delhi, to our team, this change is aimed at simplifying the process of obtaining the admit cards by students, as it is a cause of major commotion and chaos each year.
Talking about this change of strategy, a University Examination board member, on condition of anonymity, told us, “ As per the new guidelines, all colleges will have to upload admit cards for each department on their respective websites. On the day of the first examination, students would be required to produce the printed version of the admit card, which would then be duly attested with the respective college stamps.”
According to the proposed scheme, admit cards of out-stationed students won’t be issued to any other student offline from this year on. The idea however has garnered a mix response from both students and faculty alike. A second year student from a reputed North Campus college shared his take on the e-admit cards and said, “ Is the online annoyance not enough during checking of results that they now want to test our patience by introducing online admit cards too? They should first be well equipped and then introduce such measures.” Some other students are rejoicing the move as they feel they won’t have to stand in long queues in this summer heat.
The proposal is thus a litmus test for the varsity and colleges, which have had a record of server crashes and huge site traffic in the past and an opportunity to regain the confidence of students in its digital capability!
*Disclaimer : Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated and not accepted!
Delhi University has been a home to a variety of students who come from various states of India. They bring with them various cultures, languages and regionalism, which constructs an image of a multi-cultural India in most of the classrooms across colleges. The Odia students of Delhi University celebrated ‘Utkal Divas’ on 1st April at Ramakrishna Hall of Institute of Economic Growth. The event was marked with a speaker session followed by Odiya music and popular mouth-watering regional sweet ‘Chenna Poda’.
The speaker session, based on the theme, ‘Odisha’s contribution towards development of India in 21st Century’, started with an introductory speech by Sibananda Mishra, a member of DOSA who spoke about how Odisha has overcome its problems in the past and its rich contribution in India’s cultural panorama. This was followed by the address of Dr. Arun Kumar Rath, an ex-bureaucrat who was one of the key persons behind the Right To Education Act, 2009(RTE 2009).Mr. Rath spoke about how Odisha’s educational demographics have significantly changed in the past years.
Eminent speakers present at ‘Utkal Divas’ spoke about Odisha’s contribution in India’s development
This was followed by an interactive speech by Tapas Dasmohapatra who asked the audience to learn the importance of support in one’s life. Being one of the most popular motivational speakers, he inspired the audience to go after their dreams with both their efforts and support of others.
This was followed by the address of Dr. Manoj Panda, director of Institute of Economic Growth (IEG). He gave an academic account of how Odisha has contributed significantly in the industrial growth of the country. He also discussed about other problems like urban migration and its solutions in context of Odisha.
This was followed by vote of thanks by Arya Tripathi, a student of KMC and a member of DOSA. The programme ended with the audience and the panellists singing ‘Bande Utkal Janani’, the anthem of Odisha. Sabyasachi Puhan, a student of Dyal Singh College said “The event made me feel like being in Odisha”.
DOSA student members singing ‘Bande Utkal Janani’ at the closing of ‘Utkal Divas’
If you are an Odia student, you too can join DOSA. For more information, visit their Facebook page here.
Are you one of those students who have no idea about their classmates and subject names? Are you the epicentre of low attendance jokes and are often called ‘Eid-ka-chand’ because of your hectic society practices and competitions? If the answer to these questions is a yes, then you have a reason to rejoice my friend!
Recognising the fact that a lot of students participate and win competitions at various annual college fests but don’t get any academic benefit of the same, DU has issued a notice regarding imparting of full marks in internals, to students who have won first positions at various college fests this year.
Insiders tell us, the administration was compelled to make such a move owing to the constant complaint by students, especially ECA students, who are often subject to bias of teachers and low internal marking due to their inability to attend classes all through the year because of society commitments. Thus, acknowledging the unfairness of the situation, the University has decided to accord full marks in internals to first position holders and 75% marks to second position holders in competitions such as Western Choir, Solo Dance, Street Play and many more. In order to maintain the credibility of this new scheme of marks distribution, colleges have been instructed to collect original winning certificates of the relevant students by second week of April.
While the move is being applauded by societies across various colleges, it has also invited criticism from various ‘Non-ECA’ students who think this move is unfair to hard working and academically inclined students who attend classes the whole year.
Expressing her disappointment at this announcement, a student said, “ I am appalled at such a strategy being introduced. People like me work day and night, attend all classes to fetch decent marks in internals, and some students will now be served marks in a platter”. Some students however are celebrating this move, “I am glad some sense dawned upon the authorities to give us the credit and respect we deserve for representing our college and winning”, remarked an overjoyed ECA student.
*Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is only to be appreciated, not accepted.
