The Hindu : New Delhi News : Decline in second cut-off list for Science courses

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Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
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Decline in second cut-off list for Science courses

Parul Sharma

‘First DU cut-off list was too elevated and unrealistic’

- Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Admission rush: Admission seekers on the last day for submission of forms at Delhi University on the basis of the first cut-off list.

NEW DELHI: The cut-off percentage for admission to several Science courses offered at Delhi University colleges has witnessed a decline ranging from 0.33 to 10 per cent in the second admission list that was released on Monday evening.

Both the campus and off-campus colleges have brought down their minimum eligibility criteria since there seem to be few takers for these Science programmes.

Ramjas College has surprised many by drastically dropping its cut-off for Physics (Hons) by 10 per cent from the first cut-off list. It stands at 78 per cent now.

Chemistry (Hons) and Botany (Hons) too have come down by 8 and 6 per cent, respectively.

“Apart from Economics (Hons), all our other courses are open for admission. The response to the Science courses has not been good among students from the general category as well as the Other Backward Classes,” said Ramjas College Principal Rajendra Prasad.

A University official claimed that the main reason for such a huge drop in Science courses at Ramjas was because its first cut-off list for these programmes was “too elevated and unrealistic”.

“Ramjas College got a large number of applications, but that’s because it runs many courses. The college, perhaps, based its first list on the number of applications it received. Hence seats remained unfilled,” he said.

“At the same time, Hans Raj College and Hindu College kept the cut-offs quite realistic and have managed to close admissions in some Science courses,” the official explained.

At Hans Raj College, the second cut-off for Botany (Hons) and Zoology (Hons) is 74 and 78 per cent, respectively.

Daulat Ram College has closed admissions for Chemistry (Hons) and Biochemistry (Hons). It is offering Botany and Zoology 69 and 73 per cent, respectively.

Gargi College has reduced its cut-off by 1-2 per cent in Physics (Hons), Chemistry (Hons) and Microbiology (Hons). However, for Botany (Hons) and B.Sc. Life Sciences, it has come down by as much as 8 per cent in the second cut-off list.

Hindu College has closed admissions in Physics (Hons) as it has made a whopping 216 admissions against 54 seats. In fact, the OBC admissions have been good too, with the college getting 22 such applicants for 11 seats.

“This is not such an unusual scenario. We will witness a high dropout rate among students once counselling for medicine, engineering and other professional fields begin,” said officiating Principal of Hindu College Subhash Chowdhury.

Students can pursue Physics (Hons) and Electronics (Hons) at Sri Venkateswara College at 85 per cent. The cut-offs for various Science courses have also taken a dip at Dyal Singh College, Deshbandhu College, Kiori Mal College, Miranda House, and Maitreyi College.

In Commerce, hope is still alive for students interested in B.Com (Programme).

The course is available at a large number of institutions such as Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, Daulat Ram College, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Gargi College, Kalindi College, Kamla Nehru College, Kirori Mal College, Maitreyi College and Ramjas College.

It is also on offer at both morning and evening shifts at Motilal Nehru College, P.G.D.A.V. College, Ram Lal Anand College and Shaheed Bhagat Singh College.

Shri Ram College of Commerce will not take any more students for Economics (Hons), while it has kept B.Com (Hons) open at 94.75-98.25 per cent.

Admissions to B.Com. (Hons) can still be obtained at Hindu and Indraprastha College for Women at 94.5-97.5 and 92.75-95.75 per cent, respectively.

Economics (Hons) has closed in colleges like Daulat Ram, I.P., Kirori Mal and Miranda House, but one can study the same at Hans Raj and Hindu.

Lady Shri Ram College has closed admissions to B.A. (Programme) and honours courses in English, History, Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology. However, the college still has some seats for B.Com (Hons) and Economics (Hons) at 94.75 per cent.

In the second cut-off list too, the colleges have offered considerable relaxation varying from 1 to 10 per cent to OBCs after most institutions stated that the process of admissions in that category remained slack.

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