Tag

SOL

Browsing

The students of Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL) protested outside the office of University Grants Commission (UGC) in opposition to a UGC directive which deems specification of the ‘mode of learning’ on the degrees awarded by it.

The students demanded a roll back of this directive calling it to be a ‘devaluation’ of their degrees.  UGC had issued guidelines to make mentioning of “Mode of Delivery” compulsory on documents issued to correspondence students, including their degrees.

According to the UGC, this move has been taken “in order to erase ambiguities between conventional mode degrees and ODL mode degrees.”

Harish Gautam, member of Krantikari Yuva Sangathan, which is an association of SOL students said, “Those pursuing correspondence courses in different open universities across the country come from disadvantaged and marginalised sections of society.” Further, arguing that such a decision would decrease their already dismal chances of getting good jobs or admissions in regular post-graduate courses of different universities, since mentioning mode of delivery would mean that their degrees will be treated inferior to those pursued through regular mode.

The students have also submitted a memorandum to the UGC demanding the annulment of the UGC guideline.

Image credits: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Aditya Narang

[email protected]

The School of Open Learning, Delhi University has recently opened admissions for undergraduates for session 2016. Read below to find out more about the process and the changing trend of increase in SOL Admissions.
The School of Open Learning opened its undergraduate admissions, 2016 from 15th July, 2016. An array of documents have to be uploaded in case of online registration.

Guidelines for SOL UG Admissions- 2016-17
Guidelines for SOL UG Admissions- 2016-17
Image credits www.sol.du.ac.in
Image credits
www.sol.du.ac.in

SOL provides the following courses for under graduation:-
B.A. (Programme)
B.A. (Hons.) English
B.A. (Hons.) Pol. Sc.
B.Com.
B.Com. (Hons.)
The admissions close on 30th August, 2016.
The School of Open Learning is a pioneer institution in the field of distance learning. Lately, the institution has seen a rise in the number of applicants year after year. As per admission data, 49,000 students had applied online to SOL by 21st July, 2016 said a report in Times of India.
The increase in the number of applicants can be traced to a number of reasons. The first and foremost reason is how applicants wish to pursue other courses like C.A and/or prepare for IAS papers. Getting enrolled in SOL gives them more time prepare for these exams. SOL has also been attracting a lot of students with high percentages. This year four students with a perfect percentage of 100 have enrolled themselves to SOL.
The high rate of influx is also a reflection of soaring cutoffs in DU. With many students not being able to make it into DU; SOL is a good option for students who do not wish to compromise on their education or haven’t been able to make it to a college of their choice even with a good percentage. Many students in SOL have percentages ranging between 80%-95%.
Another important aspect is the financial aspect. The annual fee for undergraduate courses approximately Rs. 3,500, relatively cheaper in comparison to DU colleges who’s annual fees ranges from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 18,000.

Featured image credits: www.thehindu.com

Akshara Srivastava
[email protected]

The English examination of BA programme from the School of Open Learning (SOL), Delhi University was cancelled on account of an alleged paper leak this Wednesday.

Students who had travelled from distant places to their respective examination centres were informed about the cancellation half an hour after the exam had begun. The paper which was leaked was being circulated on Whatsapp and this was confirmed by the authorities. Thereafter the paper was cancelled and rescheduled for June 24 at 9 am. Prior to this incident, Economics examination of SOL had also been cancelled on June 12.

Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), The Students Union of SOL will be protesting on Thursday at Arts Faculty in DU’s North campus against the inconvenience caused to students. According to Harish Gautam, a member of KYS, “The students had been allotted centres in far-flung areas. After students had reached the centres, they were told that the paper had been cancelled. This puts physical and mental as well as economic strain on students”. The teaching staff has claimed that using Government schools as examination centres has made the paper leaks possible. There have also been complaints about inadequate monitoring.

Around 55,000 students will now have to appear for the paper rescheduled. An FIR has also been lodged under section 406,409 and 120 (b) at Maurice Nagar Police station.

 

Featured image credits: du.ac.in

With inputs from Hindustan Times

Tooba Towfiq

[email protected]

Every year more than 1.5 lakh students join School of Open Learning, many of whom migrate from regular colleges. What drives students to take this decision?

One of the most common reasons is that as students get promoted to higher semesters, the pressure of college attendance takes a toll on their career aims. Unable to handle the tuitions along with regular classes, the School of Open Learning witnesses a lot of migrations. A number of professional courses like Charted Accountancy and Actuarial Sciences, to name a few, demand work experience or articleship before students can move to higher levels. This is impossible to continue with regular classes and so SOL or correspondence becomes the only option for students intent on completing the course with their degree.

Many students enroll themselves in Delhi University to experience the carefree and fun life that the colleges in DU seem to offer. Being a part of SOL takes that away- the fests, the societies, the friends, and everything else. But it does give students plenty of time to focus on life ahead and excel in their professional course of choice.

SOL and regular colleges give a student the same platform except that regular colleges give students a sense of satisfaction of studying under the aegis of Delhi University, while SOL doesn’t. The criteria to enter management institutes like the IIMs and ISBs are the same for both, School of Open Learning and regular DU colleges, thus motivating students even from “top” colleges like SRCC and Hans Raj to take the leap.

But the fact that a degree isn’t always sufficient to propel students to positions they are capable of, and that the environment of a college does do plenty to ready a student for life after college, the decision to shift to School of Open Learning must be backed with unrelenting motivation and hard work.

Image Credits: dishapublication.com

Animesh Agarwal

[email protected]

School of Open Learning ( SOL ), Delhi University’s institution which provides correspondence degrees and which is likely to find its name in the Limca Book of Records for adding maximum number of students in a day, might soon lose all the credit it has achieved till date, thanks to UGC’s guidelines which prohibit a university to give two different types of degrees.

This situation has arrived due to the inclusion of FYUP in the colleges run by the University of Delhi. Since, FYUP was not introduced in the correspondence courses, they’re still running on the old 3 year mode which in turn is conflicting with the UGC’s rules. The follow up would be that the university might discontinue the honours degree it is providing through the SOL Programme. Such a decision would mean, that the open learning institution will only be giving out degrees for certificate and vocational courses.

Not only this, according to sources, it is also being alleged that the University is thinking of diverting the funds, which will be appropriated from the admission fees of students who applied for SOL, to start regional study centres for different colleges of the university. Adhering to which, principals of different colleges would also be given an amount of 25000 a month to give out the desired land for the constitution of study centres.

Faculty of SOL seemed perplexed when we asked them about these developments. ‘We have received the information through media only, though we are totally against scrapping the honours degree from SOL’, said Dr. U.S. Pandey, senior faculty in the department of Commerce, SOL.

Delhi University Teacher’s Association ( DUTA ) staged a dharna today condemning the same.

Delhi University’s School of Open Learning will start its admission procedure from May 27 which will continue till August 14. According to the newly implied changes, the admission process this year will be both online and offline. The applicants who miss the last day of form submission can apply till September 1 by paying Rs. 200 as late fee.

As told to Indian Express, C.S Dubey, the Chairperson of SOL said, “In order to encourage students to apply online, students will not have to pay any application fee.” Talking about decentralizing the application process, Dubey added, “We are trying to decentralize the application process. It will be easier for people who come all the way and stand in queues for hours.”

The online application will be available for English, Political Science and B. Com in honors courses. While both online and offline application option is available for BA and B. Com program courses. Payment of the application can also be made through branches of State Bank of India.

The study material which the students get at the time of admission will likely be distributed via pen drives this year, although hard copies will be available for economically weaker students. The study material for SOL is also expected to be made available online. There are also the chances of increment in fee by Rs. 350 in SOL.

“We have procured one hundred computers and laptops and we have set up interactive boards in 10 rooms in SOL. All lectures are going to be video-recorded and put on the website,” Dubey said in a statement given to Indian Express.

For further details, visit the SOL website here.

Image courtesy: sol.du.ac.in

School of Open Learning (SOL), University of Delhi, is expecting an increase in number of applications this year. The number of enrolments last year was 1.32 lakhs, and there are chances that there might be an even higher number of applications this year. One reason for this increase might be the sky-high cut-offs of regular colleges that have left SOL as an option for many aspirants.

As reported earlier, the FYUP has not yet been introduced to SOL and might become a part of the institution from the next academic year. As SOL is largely dependent on course material, the authorities are in need of more time to come up with content that is well-suited and as per the requirements of FYUP. The absence of FYUP could be another reason for the higher number of intakes in SOL this year. Many aspirants might be apprehensive about taking up the FYUP in regular colleges, as it is a new development in the University. They might want to follow the tried and tested method instead of the new one.

SOL is now the only institution under the University of Delhi that is still offering the B.A. Programme and B.Com. Programme courses. What attracts most aspirants is the fact that they get the same degree from the University as any other regular college-going student does. SOL students can do other courses or work alongside their correspondence course.

Admission forms for SOL can be submitted latest by 14th August, after which Rs.200 will be charged as late fees till 2nd September.

After a range of concerns surfacing amidst students, the School of Open Learning, popularly known as SOL might be getting the FYUP next academic year onwards.

SOL or School of Open Learning is Delhi University’s solution for students who prefer distance learning. The correspondence courses from the institute are a popular preference for students who want to immediately work after school while they also earn a degree. It is also an option for those who do not have a very high percentage that might be sufficient for them to earn admission in their choice of course in a regular college. However, the best part about SOL has been the fact that despite the fact that you are doing a correspondence course, the degree is the same as other colleges and is awarded by the Delhi University.

When the rest of the colleges in the Delhi University went ahead with the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) this year, it was announced that SOL would continue with the previous existing three year programme. The decision has raised a slew of apprehensions among applicants who are now looking at a three year correspondence course vis-à-vis a four year regular one. Not only does it create a disparity between the degrees awarded, it also raises questions whether the ones under the FYUP will actually be more ‘employable’.

The reason for SOL not adopting FYUP this year is the fact that the methodology of SOL courses is heavily dependent on the course material. And it is apparent that developing course material for the hurriedly formulated FYUP will certainly take time. However, SOL authorities believe that they should be able to work on the same and the FYUP should come to SOL in the coming year. At present the centre offers five undergraduate courses namely, B.A. Programme, B.Com (Pass), B.Com (Hons.), B.A. (Hons.) Political Science and B.A (Hons.) English literature. One needs to note that three of these don’t exist with the FYUP. While B.A. Programme is scrapped, B.Com has been replaced with a Baccalaureate in Commerce degree. Hence, what would happen to SOL next year with its limited set of courses is a matter of concern as well.

With drastic changes coming to the rest of the university, the changes that are in store for SOL might have been delayed, but are surely still expected.

(For entire Admissions 2013 coverage click here)

The students of the School of Open learning held a protest at the Faculty of Arts, North Campus on January 22. One of the major grievances of the students was the delay in the declaration of results. Students say that the number of people enrolled in SOL is very high and the current infrastructure isn’t enough to support it; the University is very lax in all its procedures. Moreover, since there was a delay in the release of results, many students could not fill up their forms for their post graduate degree on time.

Another grievance that the students want addressed is that there is always a disparity between correspondence students and regular students, with the former being neglected. They think kind of it as an “Education Apartheid” that most people perceive students of SOL as those who do not take studies seriously and thus are only interested in part time studying. Moreover, according to SOL students, they are very much neglected by the University, as they have only one class every week, which does not help them study in any way. The students believe that the correspondence students outnumber the regular students and so there is a need to open more colleges. There has been no new college under the aegis of Delhi University since the past thirty years.

They demand that the infrastructure to accommodate more students and organize more lectures for students should be immediately developed and 80 new colleges be set up so that regular evening classes can take place and students get access to study material. In response to the protests a senior official said an immediate meeting with the VC will be called.

Migration, the process by which a student can change his/her college within the University while not having to repeat a year of education, is a boon for meritorious students who might have not made it to their college of choice initially. Before 2011, migration was a clearly stated policy in most college brochures/handbooks and the practice was fairly common.

Come 2011 and enter the semester system. The migration policies suddenly go off the records; it does not find a mention in any college prospectus. The reasons offered in hushed tones is that colleges doesn’t want to complicate an already complex scenario by working out how a student would migrate through semesters, and how marks would be carried forward and how the conflicting optional-papers system would be worked out.

This however, does not imply that migrations are disallowed. There exists a file in the DU website, a file record of an amendment to Ordinance IV, relating to migrations. It clearly states that migrations are still allowed, and can now even occur across universities (as per new rules)! The rules more or less remain the same as before.

The policy change has puts questions before us : why is migrations being down-played by the University? Why is it so that our correspondent, who visited the SOL for migration, is told “There are no migrations allowed as of date, we shall let you know if there is a change in policies.” Why is so that staff members in various North Campus colleges where we reached out either refuse to comment or state that migrations are disallowed?

The dean’s office at the University says that the website needs to be updated and that colleges do allow migrations. This statement comes amidst reports that the last date to apply for migrations (as found out from college sources directly) at Hindu College and GGS College are already past. For the immediate attention of interested students, Khalsa College, among a possibly larger list, is still accepting applications!

Being a government-funded university, it is of paramount importance that transparency is followed at all levels. Delhi University should take steps to make information available at all levels. Migrations are an across-the-University issue and require immediate attention as far as updating the website is concerned. Colleges also need to work keeping student’s welfare in mind. Difficulty faced by colleges in admitting migration students indicates a flaw in the system for which a meritorious student should not be penalized.

 

Arnav Das
[email protected]

Photo credits: Additi Seth