Education: CUT-OFFs-Pressure Cooker of Admissions
Intro: Getting admission in Delhi University, one of India's most prestigious institutions is considered as tough as to get admission in any leading foreign university.
Long queues of students seeking admissions can be seen at colleges and universities now as admissions are open for different courses. Besides humid heat and sun-strokes, students also face the thunder shocks of the cut-offs of the Delhi University.
The cut-off criteria is not universal. It is decided by the College Admission Committee (CAC) of every college on the basis of their intake capacity separately. Besides this, students always suffer by the reserved category criteria. —Prof Aftab Alam, Head of Department (HoD) |
Now, getting admission in Delhi University, one of India's most prestigious institutions is considered as tough as to get admission in any leading foreign university. As Delhi University is an amalgam of 80 different colleges it is considered equivalent to Oxford and Cambridge in Britain or the Ivy League schools in the US.
This is expected with students scoring high percentage in Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) Class 12 examination this year, the university officials are speculating that cut-off will be much higher and students will face difficulty to compete. Though, the previous criteria of best subjects have also been removed this time. The students can include vocational subjects in their best of four but they will have to lose 10 per cent from the subject in which they have got the highest marks. The university has specifically advised the students to fill in the actual marks and leave the deduction or addition to the colleges.
Cut-off pattern is as per the guidelines of Delhi University. To compete and get the best everyone has to face the ups-down so as students. This is called survival of the fittest. —Ravita Rathi, I have tried my best to score 92% in 12th board exams. I am not afraid of cut-off but horrified with the reserved category criteria. It should be banned. —Anita Sunny (A student) |
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This year, there will also be ‘university observers’ who will see that admission is carried out without any problem. Also, there is good news for the students seeking admission in Delhi University. It has introduced a new course, where a compilation of various different subjects can be integrated together for a combined course of the student’s choice, a course structure generally seen at various international universities. Even though, courses such as this are a respite for students from basic courses, if the next three cut-offs continue in a similar fashion, the student population at the university is likely to reduce drastically.
Most colleges are already trying to get away from the examination system by offering seats to students who come from underprivileged groups and reserved categories. Universities also relax the rules for talented athletes and students in the arts. But, in this reserved categories, seats are sometimes left vacant and general category students get affected. Girls will have relaxation this time in the cut offs to get admission.
The problem is not going to get any easier. More than 120 million Indians will reach college age in the next few years. So, pack your bags and be prepared to race like a horse or else you will fall apart.
-Monica Sangwan
