The Hindu : New Delhi News : Evening colleges improve their showing

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Thursday, Jul 10, 2008
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Evening colleges improve their showing

Staff Reporter

Are now attracting good students and getting fine results in academics and sports

The University has ten evening colleges that share buildings with the morning colleges
“In the past six years our admission cut-offs have got higher every year”

NEW DELHI: Evening colleges of Delhi University are increasingly coming into their own now, attracting good students and getting fine results in academics, sports and extra-curricular activities.

The University has ten evening colleges that share buildings with the morning colleges.

“Evening colleges have become a big boon for students. Since we have classes from 3 p.m. onward, students can get enrolled into a diploma or any other course during the mornings. After three years they are equipped with two weapons as they find their way in the job market,” says Motilal Nehru College (evening) Principal Suresh C. Sharma.

The concept of evening colleges was initiated for working students who wanted to pursue education. But in the past few years these colleges have been beginning their classes in the afternoon shift from 2 p.m. or 3 p.m.

Starting with B.A. Programme courses, these colleges were later upgraded by the University and allowed to run Honours courses and vocational subjects. However, they have not been allotted Science courses.

“In the past six years our admission cut-offs have got higher every year. Resultantly the quality of students is also improving. Earlier, evening colleges were treated as second-rate institutions, but now we are getting good students. They are coming to these colleges out of choice as they feel it is a viable option since they can pursue something else in the morning,” added PGDAV College (evening) Principal R.M. Bhardwaj.

Dyal Singh College (evening) Principal Deepak Malhotra asserts that evening colleges are not only doing better in academics but also in sports and co-curricular activities.

Profile and character

“The total profile and character of these colleges has changed in the past few years. They now have individual teams that participate in various inter-college sports and cultural activities,” he adds.

Agrees Dr. Sharma, who says his college competes with North Campus colleges in terms of academic results of some courses.

“If we take students at 60 per cent and mould them into University toppers, then the credit goes to us. No sports team of the University, be it football, judo or wrestling, is complete without my college. We are setting up an e-resource centre comprising 40 computers that will be inaugurated at the beginning of this session. It will be aimed at improving computer literacy, particularly among learners from the rural background,” he explained.

However, some colleges also complain of “step-motherly treatment” by the University authorities.

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