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Course in ‘Happiness’ for DU students at Ramanujan College

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Ramanujan College offers a six-month course in ‘happiness’ free of cost for undergraduate students, aimed at tackling rising stress.

The University of Delhi’s (DU) Ramanujan College is offering a free six-month certificate course for students in happiness. The course is being offered by the college’s School of Happiness which was inaugurated last year. Turned into a full-fledged morning college from Deshbandhu College, Evening in 2013, Ramanujan College, located in the heart of South Delhi is well-known for its promising infrastructure and top rankings.

The proposed certificate course has six components to its curriculum – community service, yoga and meditation, life skills, communication skills, personality development, and glimpses into our Vedas and spirituality which comprise to a total of a hundred points.

Under a memorandum of understanding with the Management Centre in Innsbruck, Austria, four meritorious students participating in this course will also be offered an opportunity to pursue higher education there, and two students will be selected for a student exchange program with them as well. Other incentives of pursuing this add-on course include Indian heritage-cum-educational tours, special certificates and a letter of recommendation for the students. Students would also be given relaxation in the attendance of regular classes in case they decide to take up this course.

In an interview with the Hindustan Times, the Convenor of the School of Happiness of Ramanujan College which is run under the College’s Centre for Ethics and Values said, “After workshops and seminars on the subject, we realised that students would benefit from a certificate course on the subject of happiness. Psychologists and members of our Applied Psychology department will interact with students and we have also partnered with NGOs to bring in instructors for the course.”

The College’s Principal, SP Aggarwal added, “The students want to learn new things. They come here from different regions to study and often there is a lot of stress. Even employers said that certain life skills like confidence,etc. were lacking in them,” while highlighting the importance of the course.

To enrol, students are required to fill up an online form and appear before an interview panel. The course will commence from 25th July 2019 in the college premises and the classes are scheduled to be held on Tuesdays, Thursday and Fridays from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. More details regarding the procedure to apply for the course can be found on the college’s official website or by clicking on the following link – here

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Vaibhav Tekchandani for DU Beat

 

Bhavya Pandey

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Campus Central

DU Colleges Increase Annual Fee for Undergraduate Courses

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With less than a month left for the new academic session to begin, the University has hiked the annual fee for many undergraduate courses.

A bulletin released on the Delhi University website on 19th June 2019 announced the revised annual fee structure for undergraduate courses. It saw an increase of at least INR 2,000 to INR 8,000 this year.

According to Hindustan Times, the fee structure of most of the courses in Gargi college has been revised by INR 2500 to INR 3000, the fee for B.A. (Hons.) Business Economics has gone up by as much as INR 14,000. The fee for the course was INR 26, 875 last year. Now, it is INR 41,220.

As reported by Hindustan Times, Promila Kumar, Principal of Gargi College said, “The University has approved B.A. (Hons.) in Business Economics as a self-finance course.” She added, “We have to generate our own funds to pay salary to teachers besides other expenses. We are not getting any grant from the University for the course,”

The insufficient funds were considered as the main reasons by the authorities for hiking the fees.

This pattern was noticed in Hindu College also. The fee structure for many courses including B.A. (Hons.) English was INR 14,790 previously but now has been increased to INR 17,310. Ramjas College saw the fee hike from INR 10,395 to INR 13,495. The average increase in fee ranges lies between INR 1500 and INR 3500 in many colleges including Aryabhatta College, Bhaskaracharya College for Applied Sciences, Delhi College for Arts and Commerce, Deshbandhu College, Hindu College, Indraprastha College for Women, Miranda House, Motilal Nehru College, and Ramjas college.

The new bulletin also mentions the increase in fee for many courses by INR 8,000 in Ramanujan College and Institute of Home Economics. Previously, the fee for courses such as B. Sc. (Hons.) Home Science and Microbiology were INR 19,675. It  now amounts to INR 28,890.

In Janki Devi Memorial College and Shaheed Rajguru College Of Applied Sciences For Womem, the increase in fee structure is somewhere between INR 4,000 and INR 5,000.

Rakesh Jha, a member of Executive Council of the University said, “We strongly demand the rollback of fee hike as it is very much against the higher education accessible to every section of the society. The drastic cut in UGC grants has brought such a situation. Just imagine what will happen when we will be force to take loan from Higher Education Financing Agency. The result will be students’ fees in lakhs to repay the loans.”

The authorities blamed “routine revision” which has resulted in demands for rollback of the increase in fee as it was against making higher education more accessible.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times and Scroll)

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Antriksha Pathania
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Campus Central

30 Newly Introduced Courses To Not Start This Year in DU

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Various undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses may not begin this year in the University of Delhi (DU).

30 UG and PG courses that were to begin in about 20 colleges may not commence from this academic session. It has also been speculated that due to various technical difficulties, the admissions to regular courses would also be delayed further.

The Academic Council which had initiated this decision of introducing 30 courses in 20 colleges in the month of January this year, had approved to introduce the following courses in various colleges:

UG Courses                                                         

  1. B.A. (H): Bhim Rao Ambedkar College
  2. B.A. (H) Economics: Dyal Singh College(Eve), Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College                                
  3. B.A. (H) Philosophy: Hansraj College
  4. B.A. (H) Psychology: Lakshmi Bai College, Bhaskaracharya College
  5. B.A. (H) History: Dyal Singh College
  6. B.A. (H) Political Science:  Bhim Rao Ambedkar College
  7. B.A. (H) Hindi Journalism and Mass Communication: Jesus and Mary College
  8. Bsc Environmental Science: Vivekananda College, Indraprastha College

PG Courses                                                         

  1. M.A. English: Shri Gurunanak Dev College
  2. M.A. Hindi: Shri Venkateshwara College, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
  3. M.Sc. Operational Research: Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Keshav Mahavidyalaya

“The council has also approved ten more vocational courses in some colleges from the upcoming session,” Professor Hansraj Suman, a member of the Academic Council stated.

There has also been an increase in the number of seats in colleges; with the B.A. (Programme) seats being increased from 40 to 200 in Hansraj College in the next session. Aditi Mahavidhalaya has also increased the number of seats in B.Sc. (Programme) from 55 to 80. The college will also have 50 more additional seats for B.Com (H), the minutes of the council mentioned.      

Mr Suman further said that even though these courses have been approved, the admissions may have difficulties as the Principals of these colleges have not been able to appoint teaching faculties. However, it is mandatory for the colleges to run these courses from the next academic session. He further added that the colleges can take loan from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), if needed, to pay the new teachers.     

“It’s terrible news because the competition for Operational Research (OR) has always been very high. The introduction of more seats would have surely helped with making it into the course more easily.” Joel Mathew, a student who has been preparing for the entrance test for OR said. This news has surely been a blow to entrance aspirants with respect to the PG course.

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

 

Stephen Mathew

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Campus Central

Modern Indian Language courses to get 10% cap on enrolments by Delhi University

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The Delhi University has decided to bring out a proposal where a 10% cap will be put on the number of students opting for Modern Indian Language (MIL) as optional subject at the undergraduate level.

 Various colleges of the varsity provides students with different Modern Indian Languages such as Sanskrit, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Punjabi as an optional subject to students of BA programme and B Com programme courses which when opted are compulsory for the students to study in the first two years as a core course.

The decision taken by the DU’s Academic Council (AC) aims at equally distributing students in each of these languages in every college. The committee is also contemplating introducing a uniform relaxation policy for all the colleges who awards 4% to 10% relaxation in marks to the students who take up these languages while taking admissions.

The standing committee passed the agenda items during its meeting last week which states, “The admission committee felt the need to relook the eligibility criteria related to MIL having a uniform policy of awarding advantages to students who wish to pursue languages in higher studies for all colleges.”

This move also reduces the burden on colleges which are offering more than one language courses as an optional subject. All the language courses would be able to draw students and not only a select few will get precedence over others.

According to a B.A. programme student from Gargi, “Fixing the number of students for language is beneficial for students as some colleges do not have infrastructure to accommodate too many students in one class, that leads to the division of sections and many times a complex time table not suitable to all. Above all, if a student is really willing to study a particular language allotment needs to be done on the basis of merit or any other fair procedure”

This move might also reduce preferability for only one or two languages and complete neglect of others which often results in colleges to stop offering them to the students not only affecting the students but also the teachers.

According to Hindustan Time’s unnamed source from the standing committee, “This has happened in many colleges, they have stopped offering many languages eventually. The idea behind fixing the number of enrolments is to encourage regular admissions in all languages.”

Image credits: Adithya Khanna for DU Beat

Antriksha Pathania
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DUB Speak

The Anonymity of an Undergraduate’s Future

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Many of us still aren’t sure regarding what we want to pursue or should pursue once our undergraduate courses end. This doubt needs to be taken more seriously.

In today’s time, being a graduate is of no great significance. A master’s degree or a specialisation course is no less than a ‘must’ if one is looking for a job-oriented future. Graduation is more of a foundation where certain skills and qualifications can be acquired to be competent enough for seeking well-paid jobs. The irony with us is that even when we realise the need to figure out what we want to do after completing our graduation, many of us still don’t have an answer.

Professional courses such as Chartered Accountancy (CA) and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) are high on demand while thousands sweat on cracking the Common Aptitude Test (CAT). Many amongst these students rely completely on their performance in these examinations. However, given the number of people who make it, students should plan on having a backup option if the situation is not in their favor. Some might argue that having a single goal acts as a motivational drive and helps them perform better. It may be true but there’s a saying that goes “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst”. It is always better to have a contingency plan.

Talking about students who are still unclear about what they should do after their graduation, it’s high time that they start giving their future a serious thought. At least, they should focus on it once they become a sophomore. Students need to analyze their interests, capabilities, and the scope of the field of study. Having said that, there always is a tussle between what one “wants” to do and what one “can” do. This is where students need to step up, research, analyse, and most importantly, decide what they want to do. A decision is always better than anonymity.

It will not be wrong to say that the students relying on their graduation will have a very hard time if they want to seek a job-oriented future. As per Harvard Business Review, a survey conducted by work analytics firm Burning Glass found that more than 20% of the positions expect a certificate or license for a particular technical skill concluding that more than two-thirds of the graduates fail to launch their careers. It is very necessary that either these categories of students plan to study ahead or develop significant soft skills.

In conclusion, there is a great population of students that need to rethink and frame their futures. This need is more of a result of one’s ignorance and unwillingness to give time for these issues. These decisions will define one’s future and the quicker they are sort out, the better.

 

Feature Image Credits: sugavaneshb.in

 

Karan Singhania

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Admissions 2017

DU extends date for UG admissions registration

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With the first phase of the University of Delhi’s undergraduate admissions for merit-based courses on the verge of culmination, aspirants are racing to finish the online formalities to become eligible for admission in the varsity. However, the University has decided to extend the last date for undergraduate registration to June 13th, 2017, till 5 pm.

The registrations commenced on May 22nd, with various technical glitches and operational delays being experienced over the period of these twenty days. The admissions process, which was completely online, allowed candidates to fill out their personal and academic details on the portal. They could select the courses, choose the ECA and sports quota categories, and upload the necessary documents online as a part of the registration process.

The admissions cycle also witnessed an obstacle due to the slight delay in the announcement of Class XII Board examinations result by the Central Board of Secondary Education, which were released on May 28th, 2017.

The varsity currently offers 60 undergraduate programmes, with more than 56,000 seats for candidates. The undergraduate admissions process for entrance-based courses was scheduled to begin on May 31st. However, the date has been postponed and the final timeline is yet to be announced.

Keeping in mind the functional and logistical delays, the University has announced that the undergraduate merit-based admissions cycle will end on June 13th, offering a one-day extension to candidates to fill up the online forms.

The undergraduate admissions portal can be accessed here.

 

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

Saumya Kalia
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Admissions 2017

DU Admissions 2017: Guidelines for NCWEB admissions

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The University of Delhi, through its policies and activities, acts as a hub of opportunities for all sectors of the society. One such endeavour to facilitate women empowerment is the Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB), which allows thousands of young women who are unable to join a regular college to obtain an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in the varsity. These students can attend classes during the weekends or academic breaks, and the Board allows them to appear for the DU examinations without attending the regular scheduled classes.

The foundation of NCWEB lies in the vision of enlightening women through academic and skill training. The holistic development offered stems from a desire to enforce social change, and thus presents itself as a platform of women’s education. The Board’s initiative is a significant step in the construction of an egalitarian society. Established in 26 UG courses and one PG centre, NCWEB has cropped up as a significant academic horizon with 23,000 students growing under its umbrella.

The admission in NCWEB is merit-based, and is administered through the declaration of cut-offs in July end. The schedule this year’s admission cycle is as follows:

schedule

Image Credits: UG Bulletin 2017-18

Interested applicants residing in NCT Delhi are automatically considered for NCWEB on selection of programmes, either B.A. (Prog.) or B.Com (Prog.) or both. The Board provides library facilities and financial aid to those candidates who are deprived of these facilities. The candidates are permitted to utilise the infrastructure of educational platforms at a low cost, thus allowing them to overcome their barriers. Through the convergence of cultural and extracurricular activities, NCWEB offers a holistic education arena to the students.

Details of the Programme

  1. Students are expected to attend classes regularly as the minimum 66% attendance has been made mandatory to appear in the University Examinations, which are held annually in the month of May.
  2. The NCWEB UG students are permitted to finish their B.A./B.Com. three-year degree programme within 6 years, of taking admission, i.e. span period for UG is 6 years.
  3. The classes are held either on Saturdays or on Sundays and during the academic breaks of the University of Delhi. There are 50 teaching days in a year.
  4. At the Under-graduate centres, classes are held from 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. There are 5 periods in a day, each of 60 min duration.
  5. Teachers of the University of Delhi and affiliated Colleges are deputed as guest faculty to teach the Non-Collegiate students. The pass percentage of these students is as good as the regular students.

Admission Procedure to B.A. (Prog.)/B.Com Programmes:

  1. Total no. of Seats in B.A. (Prog.) in each of teaching centres: 284

Total no. of Seats in B.Com. in each of teaching centres: 184

Number of seats in B.A. (Prog.) subject combinations are fixed. Reservation for SC/ST/OBC/PwD/CW will apply as per University rules.

  1. The percentage for cut-off will be decided on the basis of marks obtained in the best four subjects in 10+2.
  2. The cut-off list shall be displayed at 9:30 a.m. at all centres and the NCWEB website ncweb.du.ac.in
  3. Any student who takes admission in any one NCWEB centre, will not be allowed to change the centre at any later stage during the admission process
  4. After approval of admission, the applicant has to log on to the undergraduate admission portal to make online admission fee payment. This may be done till 12:00 noon of the next day of the given admission list deadline.

Requirements at the time of admission:

  1. The applicants will have to submit their original certificates at the time of admission.
  2. The annual fee would be approximately around Rs. 3500/-.
  3. No fee will be charged from PwD students.
  4. The Non-Collegiate students are not allowed to pursue any other full-time/degree programme.
  5. It is suggested that the students may take admission in a college near their residence, if possible.
  6. Residence proof of NCT Delhi (i.e. Aadhaar card/ Passport/ voter Id card/ Driving license/ Ration card) in original will have to be submitted.

Feature Image Credits: University of Delhi

Saumya Kalia

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Admissions 2016

DU to allow students to apply for vacant seats without cancelling admissions in 2nd phase

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In a major relief to several aspirants, the under graduate admissions committee of Delhi University has allowed students to apply for the vacant seats in various courses across colleges under this round of admissions. Students can now apply for the same by logging into their respective accounts in the undergraduate admissions portal. The link for the same shall be made available from tomorrow i.e-26th July 2016. Tomorrow is also the also the last date for accessing the admission portal for applying for the same.

The students who have already been admitted in any college of Delhi University need not require to withdraw their admissions from their current colleges to apply to other colleges. Furthermore the candidates are not required to submit the print out of their application form at the colleges they are applying in.

The students are also advised to confirm their name in the merit list of the colleges before cancelling their admissions at their current colleges. Neither Delhi University nor the college shall be responsible if the student cancels his/her admissions in one college and fails to get admission elsewhere.

 

For any further clarifications regarding the issue the students can call University Helpline numbers given below.

011-27667092

155215(Without any pre code)

011-27006900

 

Picture from www.du.ac.in

Srivedant Kar

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DUB Speak

The Importance of Undergraduate Research

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With a bundle of high hopes, millions of students enter their college classrooms every year. Some think of changing the world while others swear to change themselves and acquire the skills which boundaries of school life did not allow. Be it History or Psychology, English or Metallurgy, students show a high interest in their subjects for the first few days of college but this fire dies out the second they are faced with long reading lists and a cumbersome syllabus to cram. Our University does not provide the option of an in depth academic exposure to a subject in the undergrad level. Thus, undergraduate research still remains that big elephant whom the system has failed to tame.

Undergraduate Research provides an exposure for students to explore the academic boundaries of the subject of their choice. They are told to choose a project under a supervisor (researcher) and under his/her guidance, learn to do a research. It includes their introduction to research methodology and various research tools that are used by researchers around the world. This academic exposure not only gives them an edge over the traditional Bachelor’s degree but also a preference over others while applying for a graduate school abroad.

The projects that are chosen by or provided to the candidates are mentored and supervised by a professor with a good background in the chosen subject of research. This in turn, builds a better rapport between students and professors and often helps the students to get good recommendations from their supervisors. Having worked with the student closely, the professor also gets to know him/her better which later becomes useful in filling out the recommendation letters of those applying for admissions abroad.

The research work that a student does can be presented at various conferences, paper presentations and even poster presentations in colleges of their parent university or other universities. This helps them form meaningful connections with other research scholars, working in the same field at an early stage.

Even though a majority of the students lack an in depth knowledge of their subject at this level, it is their curiosity to learn which becomes valuable to the research. Sometimes, their exploratory minds come up with incredibly breakthrough ideas or observations which tend to become a matter of further study.

In fact, nowadays, even employers across several hiring platforms look for candidates who can brilliantly take a lead in various projects for their companies. A successful undergraduate research spanning for a couple of months in summer or an experience of an yearlong research would be like an icing on the cake for all the students in search of employment opportunities after college.

Therefore, students in India can explore the opportunity of Undergraduate Research at various Universities like IITs, IIMs and other Universities. Delhi University offers the option of Undergraduate research in form of various Innovation projects to its students.

Image Credits: www.shutterstock.com

Srivedant Kar

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Admissions 2015

DU Admission statistics: English Hons. the most preferred course, 36000 applicants with 90% or above

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Admission process for undergraduate courses at University of Delhi closed on the 15th June 2015. Varsity invited applications for around 54000 seats for the upcoming session of 2015-16 and application forms were accepted both online and offline. Total registrations received by students of all categories via both the modes were recorded at 291817. This data excludes the applicants for BMS/BBA/BBE and B.El.Ed. Programme.

Find out our report for the details on individual categories, here.

Office of Dean of Students’ Welfare released the compiled report for the statistics on Admission today on the 19th June 2015. According to the statistics, 122020 female candidates have applied in comparison to 169731 male students. ‘Other’ category for third gender students was introduced for the first time in undergraduate admission applications and 66 students have applied under the same.

For the percentage-wise statistics, around 36000 applicants have secured 90% or above in their Class 12 Board Examinations. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has given University of Delhi the maximum number of aspirants with the number standing at 218872. Other applicants are from ISC or other state boards like UP, Bihar, Rajasthan etc.

Find out the full statistics, here:

TotalApplications 291817
Total applicants(Female) 122020
Total applicants(Male) 169731
Total applicants (Other) 66
Gen 178419
OBC 68867
SC 37085
ST 6270
Pwd1 460
Pwd2 137
Pwd3 434

Top 10 choices for Course

CourseOpted Total
B.A(Hons)English 90331
B.Com 71505
B.Com(Hons.) 68866
B.Sc(Hons)Chemistry 66987
B.Sc(Hons)Mathematics 66586
B.A(Hons)Economics 63264
B.Sc(Hons)Physics 62585
B.A(Hons) PoliticalScience 56408
B.Sc(Hons) ComputerScience 50317
B.A(Hons)History 47088

 

Board Wise Applicants

Category Total
CBSE 218872
ISC(AllIndia) 8311
UP 8293
Bihar 12705
Haryana 3332
Rajasthan 26693
OpenSchool 3763
Other 9846
GrandTotal 291815

 

Year of Passing

PassingYear Total
2015 246548
2014 35146
2013 6753
Before2013 3337
GrandTotal 291784

 

Status of Result

ResultStatus Total
Passed 287279
Awaited 995
Compartment 3438
GrandTotal 291712

 

 

Percentage Wise Applicants

Percentage Range Total
0-45 8106
45.01-50 10101
50.01-55 15674
55.01-60 21403
60.01-65 28082
65.01-70 32580
70.01-75 35268
75.01-80 35195
80.01-85 35597
85.01-90 33791
90.01-95 28999
95.01-100 6850
Grand Total 291646

 

School-Wise Applicants

School Total
Government 93692
Public 123398
Govt. Aided 16328
Other 33411

 

Study Medium Wise Applicants

Study Medium Total
English 163098
Hindi 48660
Other 1384

Information Source: Dean of Students’ Welfare

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

Iresh Gupta
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