Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, Deputy Dean, Students’ Welfare and OSD Admissions of Delhi University, has all the information regarding university admissions at his fingertips. He spends hours replying to grievances from applicants pertaining to admissions. Mr. Tuteja’s advice to all applicants is to read the information bulletin carefully before applying. Here are excerpts from an interview with The Hindu .
This year, the admission portal has opened early and the server seems to be handling the traffic on the website well. Students for the first time have not been complaining about glitches when it comes to the portal. What has DU done differently this year to make the system work better?
There were several improvements made to the system. Technically, we made the portal stronger after learning from our previous experiences. Also, we started much earlier to give more time to the students for form filling. Since CBSE has not announced its results yet, the hits to the website are coming slowly. Students have the option of completing the form and leaving the results tab till the results come out which decreases the last-minute rush to the portal.
During the Open Day, an often asked question is whether students should pick course over college or college over course, and the answer that the admission committee gives is that all colleges are of the same calibre. However, National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings clearly rates one college better than the other. How do you respond to this?
For us still we say that the course is more important than the college because ultimately the rankings change with time. A college that was placed at second or third may go to the top by the time the student graduates. The priority should be course because that is what will remain with you. The colleges are just facilitators. There are a range of options to choose, including School of Open Learning and Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board [NCWEB], depending on what the applicant is looking for. Ultimately the degree says Delhi University and does not carry the name of any college.
In PG admissions to the university, there is a fear among students that their application will get delayed due to the evaluation boycott called by Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA). Do you fear that this will derail the entire process as students will not have their marks on time?
I think with time this issue will get resolved. There is plenty of time when it comes to PG admissions. Students will have time till mid-August to upload their third-year results on the portal and confirm their seat.
The admission panel had said that it was attempting to shorten the admission period. How successful has this plan been?
We have basically requested all college principals to come out with realistic cut-offs this year by asking them to conduct meetings among themselves. We asked them to discuss what cut-offs they are going to publish after looking at the data that they have with respect to the marks that the applicants have scored. They should build a consensus so that seats are filled in the first few lists itself. We will not have to release more that five lists.
What is the most common grievance when it comes to admission that your office has to deal with? Any advice to applicants?
The biggest issue that we face is typographical mistakes. Sometimes, they spell their name wrong or spell their father or mother’s name wrong. The students need to be very careful as a form once submitted cannot be changed nor can the application fee be refunded. I would request all students to start early, carefully read the information bulletin which contains all the information required about form filling and then only complete the process. A student can apply for any number of merit-based courses in a single application form with no additional charge. It is better to apply for a course that they are vaguely interested in than to miss out later once the cut-offs are out.
