Delhi University (DU), which affiliates more than 70 colleges, is one of the most sought-after universities in the country which had more than 5 lakh applications for UG courses only during the last academic year. In the last few decades, questions have been raised on the admission process of the university as it is among the very few universities in the country which still admits students on the basis of their marks in class XII examinations.
For decades, students and parents across the country to have demanded Delhi University to change its admission criteria because the students from the boards which are conservative in awarding marks – like UP Board, Maharashtra Board, and Bihar Board – are at a disadvantage while the students from CBSE and Tamil Nadu Board easily get admission in the university.
However, despite repeated demands and protests, Delhi University still follows the same criteria of admissions because it suits the kids of Delhi elites. The top bureaucrats, politicians, and intellectuals who reside in the city, send their kids to the top schools of Delhi, most of which are affiliated with CBSE or ISCE. These schools follow the CBSE pattern and most of the students score above 90 per cent marks. Students from such schools easily get admission into top DU colleges.
Apart from a world-class education, the fee in Delhi University colleges is minimal, therefore, the parents who send kids to elite schools of the city save lakhs of rupees on the higher education of the students.
If the admissions are conducted on the basis of an entrance exam, the students from states like Odisha, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, who are smart but do not go to elite and hence score less percentage in board exams, will more likely to get the admission in Delhi University colleges than the those of elite schools.
Therefore, the Union government has pushed the Delhi University to admit the students on the basis of the Central University Common Entrance Test (CUCET), which is being conducted for the last few years to admit students in many central universities like Rajasthan, Jammu, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and so on. So far, DU was not a part of the CUCET, but this time it will participate.
However, the elites of Delhi have been able to save some space for themselves because, as per the recent reports, for Delhi University, the weightage of the entrance test will be only 50 per cent while the rest 50 per cent weightage will be given to board exams.
However, some academics and administrators are not happy with board exams being awarded 50 per cent weightage. “The entrance test would have taken care of all the variation in marks between different boards… Why have two ways of testing students and put pressure on them?” asked Shobha Bagai, who was Dean of Admission last year.
Hindu College Principal Anju Srivastava said that even if the administration wants to give some weightage to board exam marks to maintain their sanctity, “more weightage should be given to the entrance.”
The proposed reforms in the admission criteria, if enacted, will give democratise the admission process for the most sought-after university. Moreover, the students across the country and from all the boards would get a chance to study at Delhi University at a subsidised fee and it won’t just be limited to the kids of the bureaucrats, politicians, and those of Delhi’s “establishment”.