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UGC renews guidelines: St. Stephen’s College to re-apply for autonomy

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The University Grants Commission has renewed their guidelines for autonomy which requires colleges applying for autonomy to reapply. Following this, St. Stephen’s College says that it will reapply for autonomy in the new format. This step taken by the college has been confirmed by the governing body.

Autonomy implies that the college will no longer be affiliated to the University of Delhi and will be free academically as well as monetarily. The college in its 2050 vision states : “By 2025 and certainly by 2050, St. Stephen’s should be an autonomous degree giving University with undergraduate, post-graduate, diploma and doctoral studies, starting maybe as a “deemed to be” university.

The advance of St. Stephen’s towards academic and monetary freedom was brought up in March, 2017. The decision of the administration was protested cumulatively by the students and the faculty members, on grounds that the issue was not consulted with the primary stakeholders before being concluded. The members asked for a transparent procedure and proper consultation with the stakeholders and adjudged that the current procedures contradicted the UGC directive that says,“There are several areas where proper preparation is necessary if college autonomy is to be implemented successfully. These are: faculty preparation, departmental preparation, institutional preparation, and preparation of students and the local community. Such multi-pronged preparation should be completed well before autonomy is sought and conferred upon a college so that no part of the college community is found unprepared for the new responsibility which it is called upon to shoulder.”

The University Grants Commision and the Human Resources Development, have further decided to hold meetings throughout the expanse of the country to dissipate the general misconceptions regarding the issue of autonomy by elucidating the scheme and the monetary concerns.

A senior UGC official spoke to Hindustan Times saying, “A number of colleges fear that autonomy will come with a cut in finances, which is clearly not the case. We want good institutes to opt for autonomy. Colleges with academic and operative freedom, do better than others and possess more credibility.”

 

Feature Image: DU Beat Archive

Trishala Dutta

[email protected]

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Admissions 2017

Admission Guidelines: St. Stephen’s College and Jesus and Mary College

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The admissions for the University of Delhi’s merit-based courses commenced from May 22nd, receiving more than 6000 applications on the first day of the process. The application forms for the undergraduate entrance-based courses will be released on May 31st, along with the forms for postgraduate courses. The admissions procedure is expected to be completed on June 12th, post which the cut-off cycle will highlight the DU website from June 20th onwards.

While the majority of colleges consider applications under the umbrella of the varsity’s common admission form, St.Stephen’s College in North Campus and Jesus and Mary College in South Campus also require a college-specific form. The application timeline for both the colleges will follow the same schedule, with the application process culminating on June 12th. However, the candidate is required to fill the application form available on the college’s respective websites. Admissions will be done in conformity with the rules and regulations of the varsity, and the cut-off lists will be released by both the colleges as per the University’s schedule on their websites.

Admission Procedure: St. Stephen’s College

Image Credits: St. Stephen's College
Image Credits: St. Stephen’s College

Click here for the prospectus and here for the admission form.

Registration period: May 22nd, 2017 – June 12th, 2017

The candidate is expected to apply at the University of Delhi’s centralised admissions portal (https://ug.du.ac.in/app/). The registration number thus obtained should be used to fill up the online admission form to complete the application process. The application remains incomplete until both the forms are submitted.

An applicant can submit only one form. No changes and additions can be made after the submission of the application and payment of fees.

The shortlisted candidates on the basis of the Best of Four subjects will be called for a test and interview. The 30-minutes written aptitude test will be followed by an interview. The weightage of the selection procedure is as follows:

Class XII Marks: 85%

Aptitude Test: 5%

Interview: 10%

Sports quota candidates are required to upload scanned copies of certificates of their highest representation in the past three years. They will have to appear for trials and present the original documents/certificates according to the schedule intimated on the college website.

Admission Procedure: Jesus and Mary College

Image Credits: DU Beat
Image Credits: DU Beat

Click here for the prospectus and here for the admission form.

The eligibility criteria for courses is explained here.

Registration period: May 22nd, 2017 – June 12th, 2017

The candidate is expected to apply at the University of Delhi’s centralised admissions portal (https://ug.du.ac.in/app/). The registration number thus obtained should be used to fill up the JMC online admission form to complete the application process. The application remains incomplete until both the forms are submitted.

An applicant can fill only one form; 3 preferences can be marked on one form. If a candidate applies for B.A. (Programme), she will be provided three choices of discipline combinations in order of preference.

Students appearing for sports quota will have to appear for trials and present the original documents/certificates according to the schedule intimated on the college website. The minimum eligibility for appearing in trials is I/II/III position at the interzonal level or I/II/III position at the state level.

Students appearing for the ECA quota will have to appear for trials and present the original documents/certificates according to the schedule intimated on the college website.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Saumya Kalia
[email protected]

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Hindu College

Colleges Under University of Delhi Planning to Seek Autonomous Status

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A few prestigious institutions under the University of Delhi, namely, St. Stephen’s College, Hindu College, Ramjas College, Shri Ram College of Commerce and colleges run by theDelhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, have expressed the desire of achieving a deemed university status. The proposals are at very initial stages, but if granted, these colleges will have the power to formulate their own rules and fee structures which will not adhere to the functioning of Delhi University.

The matter was raised in the governing body meeting of Hindu college, and it was declared that in later stages if a college wants a deemed university status, they must have an ‘A grade’ accreditation under NAAC for 3 consecutive years. A senior university official stated, “Few colleges like SRCC, Stephen’s, Ramjas, Hindu and the ones run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee want deemed university status. The Union Human Resource Development Ministry has also formulated some norms for providing more autonomy to colleges but deemed status will give them complete freedom of functioning on their own”. It has been speculated that if this status is granted to any of these colleges, they will not be bound by any of the rules and regulations of Delhi University, and thus there will be no need to seek sanctions from the University for any decision. Despite of all these proposals, it has also been speculated that the Student Unions of these colleges might oppose this move because the college will then have a liberty of deciding their own fee structure, and thus there might be a price hike in the fee which would make affordability a great reason of concern for many students.

St. Stephen’s College has already been in a tussle with the University of Delhi for the past couple of years regarding an autonomous status. Attempts to reach out to the Student Union of the college for their comments were unsuccessful.

 

By Joyee Bhattacharya ([email protected])

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DUB News

A pledge for misogyny? St.Stephen’s ANGA comes under fire for V-Day oath promoting misogyny

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ST Stphen

The latest video, showing the members of St. Stephen’s College’s ANGA taking a pledge on Valentine’s Day to promote misogyny, has caused a furore on the internet.

 

A video making the rounds of social media since 14th February, showing the members of St. Stephen’s College’s Alnutt North Gentlemen’s Association (ANGA) taking a pledge, has been grabbing a lot of eyeballs lately. The oath is taken in the Alnutt North men’s residence block alongside the block tutor every year, and has been a part of ANGA’s V-Day tradition for quite some time now. It is a ritual not unlike Hindu College’s Damdami Mayi Puja of the Virgin Tree on every Valentine’s Day. An eyebrow-raising aspect of it, however, lies in the fact that the men, in the name of “Liberty” and building a “paramount egalitarian fellowship”, simultaneously pledge “to philander exclusively with men” and to “promote among them all misogyny”.

A source, not wishing to be named, clarifies that though most of the boys participate in the ritual and head out for an ice-cream afterwards, it is nota compulsory oath. They are even told in advance, ‘supposedly’, that the pledge is all in good fun. It is not meant to be taken seriously under any circumstance, and the issue was never given such publicity or brought under the limelight before. With social media providing instant access these days and the video going viral, however, ANGA has come under direct attack from various student groups, some of which even claim to have been protesting in vain against the ritual for quite some time.

Responding to the immense backlash, ANGA states, “We as members of the ANGA family and the larger Stephanian family have always upheld its values actively, supporting the ideas of gender equality. The ANGA oath has traditionally been a mockery meant to take a dig at the institutionalised inequality that exists in our society. It was a clear expression of sarcasm… we believe that it is not right to exaggerate it to such a large extent… at the end of the day, we all belong to the larger Stephanian family. We will, in the future, continue to fight for issues of gender inequality. We are extremely saddened by this kind of misinterpretation of our intentions… [This was] never intended to start a war against the other gender.”

Caught between a battle of interpretations by DU’s various feminist students and women’s groups, and a round of clarifications by ANGA itself, the ritual stands contested. Whether this, or even the rituals like the one followed by Hindu College, ought to be followed or not, is an entirely separate debate altogether. As of now, the spotlight is on ANGA.

 

Deepannita Misra

[email protected]

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News

On a vacation, Three Students from St Stephen’s College drown in Periyar river in Kerala

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Three students from St Stephen’s college along with a private resort owner drowned in Periyar river in Kerala’s Ernakulam district and lost their lives, Friday evening.

Anubhav Chandra from Bihar, Aditya Patel from Uttar Pradesh and Kenneth Jose from Kerala’s Wayanad were on a college trip accompanied by two female wardens. Anubhav and Aditya were third year students from the Department of Sanskrit, while Kenneth was a first years student from Chemistry.

The three had left their group to visit the location by the side of a private resort on Friday evening. They were accompanied by Benny Abraham, who owned the resort. The incident occurred at Paniyeli Poru, a tourist spot where the river has dangerous clusters of slippery rocks, near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district. It has been reported that one of the four slipped into the river and the other two jumped to save him. Upon failing to do so Abraham, the resort owner who was familiar with the water also jumped, but lost his life while trying to save others. Abraham’s daughter is also a student of St Stephen’s College.

John Varghese, principal of the college addressing the incident said, “This is a moment of great sorrow for us. This was part of college trip. A warden was accompanying the children.They went away from the group. One student was drowning and others died while saving him”. He also reassured that the college would assist the parents concerned in all its capacity.
The three students were a part of the Malayalam Literary Society, which organises a trip to Kerala every year. The spot where the incident happened had warning signposts too. According to the police, the spot is known for its death traps for tourists because of strong undercurrents, though the water is only few feet deep. The bodies of all four have been recovered and taken to the Taluk hospital at Perumbavoor.

According to students, Aditya and Anubhav were very close friends. A condolence meet had also been planned for Saturday morning .

With inputs from NDTV.com

Tooba Towfiq

[email protected]

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St. Stephen's

Society activities for the session conclude at St. Stephen’s College

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The society activities at St. Stephen’s college came to a closure with its famous Informal Discussion Group aka IDG hosting an interactive session on student politics in India. Its Music Society celebrated the first edition of its annual ‘Milestones in Music’ and Sabha (the college’s multilingual dramatics society) presented an interesting play, ‘No One Killed Mr Malik’.
The IDG hosted Dr. Rajarshi Dasgupta who works as an assistant professor at the JNU, New Delhi. He spoke on the topic ‘Theological Turn of Political Rationality’. The lecture was dense and technical enough to keep students involved. Dr. Dasgupta theorised the dimensions of growing authoritarianism in the country and its growing acceptance. He also talked about and interacted with students regarding the sacrifices that students of different backgrounds are seen making. Numerous questions were raised regarding the recent rows at Hyderabad Central University and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
The Music Society of the college came up with the first edition of its annual ‘Milestones in Music’ which witnessed a jam-packed audience. Milestones was the last society event this year in the college. The event started with Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D and then went on covering several genres and paying tributes to eminent Indian singers like Asha Bhonsle. Though the audience looked captivated throughout the event, the electrifying Sweet Child O’ Mine guitar performance and the Bow Band/Girl Group Face Off gathered most of the shouts. The event ended with a huge round of applause.
Sabha’s annual production, ‘No One Killed Mr Malik’ brought together college’s well known faces in acting. The play was a thriller, full of mystery, and attracted a huge crowd as well.

Featured image credits: PhotoSoc, St Stephen’s College

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St. Stephen's

The Economics Society, St. Stephen’s organizes National Economics Festival

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The Economics Society, St. Stephens, organized its two day annual fest, National Economics Festival on 15th and 16th January, 2016. The festival witnessed substantial participation, with over 500 students, from various colleges across the Delhi University and provided assistance for those seeking an expressive platform for application of the theoretical knowledge and discussion of the nation’s economic scenario. First day of the festival began with an inaugural lecture by Dr. Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Executive Secretary of International Development Economics Associates, about the topic: ‘India’s youth: Demographic Dividend or Ticking time bomb.’ “We need strategies for changing the growth pattern, it’s not just enough to grow GDP if it doesn’t give us the structural change. We need to be proactive about employment generation, public education and skills development.” said Dr. Ghosh while discussing the problems of unemployment in our nation. Tito in Vegas (a gambling-based situation game), Eco biz quiz and Eco-Mediathon (a blend of economics and journalism), witnessed a huge participation on the first day.

Second day of the festival focused predominantly on debates and discussions through committee simulations. For instance, The European Council reviewing on the economic consequences of the ongoing Refugee Crisis, an advisory board on the Monetary Policy Committee and Narasimha Rao Cabinet discussing the aftermath of the 1991 BOP Crisis. The committee simulations were followed by N C Ray Paper presentation for the research enthusiasts. The highlight of the first day was the event ‘Underground Economy’ which involved facing a world full of criminal mafias, trading drugs, visiting brothels and playing till the moment one was caught by the cops. “It wouldn’t have been half as successful without our seniors, who started working months before the fest. They helped revive the society this year.” said  Dhairya Aggarwal, a second year member of The Economics Society.

Image Credits:  The Economics Society of St. Stephen’s College

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DUB News

Gender Studies Cell, St.Stephen’s College: Taboo Diaries, Chapter 2

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The Gender Studies Cell (GSC), St.Stephen’s College, held its second discussion as part of ‘Taboo Diaries’ on ‘Sex, Sexuality and Shame’. The GSC hopes to bring the topics that most of us aren’t too comfortable discussing, out into the open for an informal and engaging discussion.

The panel of eight comprised entirely of students from the college, spread across batches and courses: Aayesha Varma, Prerna Subramanian, Paro Tomar, Suchismita Panda, Shirin Choudhary, Anshul Mukarji, Havisha Khurana and Harsha Sanyukta, presented their views on various taboos and misconceptions surrounding and not limited to, concepts of sexuality, safe sex, masturbation and sex education, after which they engaged in a discussion with the audience.
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The event was flagged off by Angha Gopal, with a slam poetry performance, on the issues of body image and coming to terms with it. As she encouraged us to ‘tip the scales over,’ she had the audience snapping their fingers in agreement.

The question of the body being the primary criteria, on which judgment of an individual is based, was raised. Further, the opinion that people who are overweight are not ‘victims’ or objects towards whom sympathy is directed was also expressed. The panelists put forth their own experiences with regard to their parents or schools shunning or in some cases accepting open discussions on sex and sexual practices. Sex sells and titillates as long as it is behind closed doors, but buying condoms to practice safe sex is still considered ’embarrassing’. This glaring public-private divide is essential to any discussion on sexual practices.

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The taboos surrounding porn and masturbation were discussed. It is common to be judged negatively for being a woman who masturbates, to the extent that most women are unaware that masturbation is natural and normal. The spaces that less privileged classes have to explore their sexuality and the problem of spaces to articulate same sex desire being inherently unsafe were other questions that were raised. Being scorned for enjoying casual sex, or ‘slut shaming’, is another taboo that exists on the same page. In order to dispel these misconceptions and taboos that surround sex and sexuality, sex education should be of supreme importance.

The most significant aspect of such a discussion is that lived experiences of students themselves are brought to the fore. While scholarly lectures or research papers may limit such discussions to a certain audience, a more informal affair ensures that maximum number of people are involved and interested in topics that they can relate to. Further, pertinent questions and issues are addressed with regard to topics that must be broached, else society considers these taboos too ‘shameful’ to be discussed outside of the privacy of our bedrooms.

Abhinaya Harigovind
[email protected]

Image Credits: Annalisa Mansukhani for DU Beat

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Bazinga

Bazinga: DU declares LSR and St. Stephen’s cafes to be renamed as ‘canteens’

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Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news!

Seems like the Delhi University administration has now become accustomed to land in hot waters with their actions, reactions and declarations. In sharp retaliation to the protesting students at Lady Shri Ram College in the wake of a steep rise in food prices, the DU high command yesterday issued a notice to the college authorities.

The notice was in regard to call their cafeteria a canteen like the rest of the university does and not a café.  A similar notice was also issued to St. Stephen’s College, it being the only other Delhi University college with a ‘café’.

While the rise in prices is believed to be an effect of rising gas prices as well as a general inflation in the economy, the notice clearly points at a solution with an ‘as you sow, so you reap’ undertone. “If you want the rates of a college canteen, call it a canteen. Cafes are fancy places, and fancy rates are what you will get”, says Mr. Aaya Ram Gaya Ram, an official from the university.

The students are left with a devil and the deep blue sea situation. While changing their mosaic-walled and cane-chaired cafes to mere canteens would leave them bereft of any and all history of exclusivity, not doing so will leave them bereft of economical meals.

The colleges have been given a short notice of two days to respond to the notice and to do so in the affirmative failing which the University has threatened to withdraw their ‘canteen’ licenses. This move is seen as attempt by to bring about a level of uniformity among the various colleges.

Sources have confirmed that next on the list is to change ‘Hall of Residence’ to the more humble hostel. Great going, DU!

Disclaimer: Bazinga is DU Beat’s weekly column of almost believable fake news!

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Admissions 2014

St. Stephen’s to open admission process from June 2, 2014

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The admissions in St Stephen’s College for the academic session of 2014 will start on 2nd June 2014. The mode of applying is online. The last date for applying for the college is 16th June after which the cut-offs will be announced soon. The list of candidates shortlisted for the interview will be posted on 17th and 18th June, while the interviews will be conducted from 20th June to 5th July.

While the application fee for the general candidates is Rs. 50, it is free for the applicants with disabilities. Also, there will be a facilitation desk for the candidates with disabilities which will provide service from 2nd to 16th June, from 10 am to 1 pm.

As told to Times of India, Valson Thampu the principal of St. Stephen’s College said, “Like last year, the mode of application shall be limited to online facility. There will be no paper applications in order to make the admission process environment-friendly as well as convenient and economical for applicants.”

Just like last year, the humanities courses will have 6 seats available for the applicants who wish to take up Urdu as Discipline 2 option or as their optional language.

The helpline for queries related to admissions can be e-mailed at [email protected]. There is also a helpline number – 011-27662168.
Click for more information on Admissions 2014.

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