The registration process of Delhi University admission was started from May 30, 2019. This year, around 2.29 lakh aspirants have registered on Delhi University admission portal for undergraduate courses. The University has introduced numerous changes in the eligibility criteria. As a result aspirants claim that admission in various UG programmes has become really difficult.

Some of the major changes introduced by the varsity in Eligibility Criteria were-

  • For Economics, 60% marks are required in intermediate
  • 55% marks are required for English, Philosophy and Social Work
  • 50% marks in mathematics is now compulsory for all undergraduate courses
  • Increase in required marks in Mathematics by 1.5% for admission to B.com(Hons) programme
  • Aggregate marks required for B.Com programme has been increased from 50% to 60%

The application process is completely online due to which getting help from officials and clearing doubts has become difficult. Since the changes have been introduced at the last moment, candidates and their parents are ill informed and in the dark.

Complications due to New Criteria

The new changes are causing a lot of confusion among candidates who are upset and are reconsidering the subject they should apply for. Several cases are discussed below to highlight the current situation.

Case 1

Last year a minimum of 50% in the subject and an aggregate of 45% in qualifying examination were required by the candidates to be eligible for B.Sc programme (Hons) in mathematics but now the minimum percentage required in mathematics has been increased to 60% to be eligible for the course.

As a result, a candidate who scored more than 95% in physics and chemistry but scored 59 in mathematics will suffer, even after passing with flying colors in class 12 and equivalent.

Case 2

Mathematics has been made compulsory to be added in the ‘best of four’ for aspirants who seek admission in courses like B.A (Hons.) Economics and B.Com (Hons.) programme. From this year, in order to bag a seat in one of the colleges, candidates must score at least 50% in mathematics.

Case 3

Overall minimum percentage needed in courses like B. Sc in Physical Science and Applied Science has been increased from 45% to a whopping 60% in all three subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Maths) and it has been made compulsory to score a minimum of 50% in English.

The fact that such adverse changes have been made to eligibility criteria, just a few days before the start of registration, has agitated many parents along with their wards. They claim that the increase in the minimum percentage required in subjects will decrease overall percentage and therefore reduce the chances of admission.

Eligibility Criteria Challenged at Court

A PIL (Public Interest Litigation) has been filed by Charanpal Singh Bagri, a lawyer on June 14, 2019. He has made a plea against that last minute changes introduced by the University of Delhi in the eligibility criteria is erratic and violates the principle of natural justice.

According to him, the varsity should have introduced the change in eligibility criteria months before so that aspirants could have prepared accordingly and scored better in the required subjects. These sudden changes will cause confusion amongst the aspirants and make the admission to the university very difficult.

Therefore the petition has sought quashing of the new eligibility criteria and allowing students as per the earlier criteria.

DU Council Objects Changes in Criteria

Delhi University’s Academic and Executive Councils have written to the Vice-Chancellor showing concern over the capricious changes in the eligibility criteria for undergraduate courses and the fact that they were introduced at the last moment.

In their letter, EC members JL Gupta and Rajesh Jha, ad AC members Seema Das, Pradeep Kumar and Sudhanshu showed their concern, stating that changes could adversely affect admission of reserved categories.

According to them the changes were arbitrary, unwarranted and uncalled for, as admissions are always finalized on the basis of merit as reflected in the cut-offs of various courses. Such changes will result in chaos among students who have already written their exams and will demand the earlier cutoff to be restored.

Benefits of New Criteria

Amidst all the confusion surrounding the new eligibility criteria, some changes in criteria would also benefit candidates by negating the deduction in marks while counting best of four due to various reasons. Some of the benefits are:

  • The varsity has introduced an inclusive approach for state Board in order to negate the deduction in marks faced by aspirants. The state board which have different nomenclatures and subjects, but the same curriculum as that of CBSE will be treated equally.
  • Yoga has now been added as a part of Extra Curricular Activity instead of Sports quota which will help students of yoga to have an equal chance of securing a seat as other candidates.
  • Modern Indian Languages has now been added to the list of subjects to prevent the deduction of 2.5% marks that took place earlier while counting best of four. This will allow in turn to help the concerned students in securing seats easily.
  • Seats for economically weaker section has been increased by 10% in 2019.

In response to the PIL filed, the Delhi High Court has sought to know the stand of the University of Delhi, University Grants Commission and the Central government on the same by June 14, 2019 which is the next date of hearing. The court stated that there is arbitrariness in the way the criteria were amended just before the opening of registration for admission.