Admissions to undergraduate courses in Delhi University this year will be on the basis of CUET (Common University Entrance Test) scores and the first batch of the newly introduced four-year Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) will have options of multiple entries and exits during the course of the programme.
Even as students remain wary of the admission procedure under the National Education Policy (NEP), Delhi University, in its centenary year, has decided to do away with the previous admission policy based on cut-off marks.
‘No need to worry’
DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh has said there is no need to worry as CUET 2022 will be based on Class XII syllabus and those who studied hard for their board exams will be able do well.
“The changes have been made for the benefit of the students. Admission via CUET will enable equal access to enrolment in various courses; UGCF will provide the flexibility to choose the disciplines and promote internationalisation as the NEP seeks to align the undergraduate curriculum with global standards,” Mr. Singh said.
Critics sceptical
The critics are, however, sceptical about the changes to be introduced within such a short time span. They feel students who suffered anxiety and faced uncertainty during the last two years of the pandemic may find it challenging to imbibe the sudden change.
The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) has questioned the implementation of UGCF during the academic year 2022-23. “If at all the changes are acceptable, the universities are left with very little time to prepare a robust curriculum. Online teaching during pandemic has impacted the learning among the current batch of Class XII students and it is not fair to hurriedly impose CUET and UGCF on them,” read a statement issued by the DTF.
Coaching for CUET
Members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students’ Association (AISA) fear that switching to CUET scores for admission will lead to mushrooming of coaching centres for the competitive exam. They said the introduction of CUET will orient the students towards preparing for the competitive exam instead of focusing on the last two academic years in school.
“The board exams will become irrelevant as students will find ways to crack the competitive exam,” said a statement from AISA. It added that CUET will become an exclusive test for those who can afford coaching classes while those from rural areas and poor families would be left out.
Shivang Bhola, a student preparing to appear for the second term of CBSE board examination, said the change in the admission process of DU has created a lot of confusion. He said he and his friends were not sure if they should concentrate on studying for their upcoming Class XII exams or switch to understanding the format of CUET that would help in college admissions.
“I have been trying but could not find sample test papers for CUET, which will be a computer-based exam with general knowledge component. Details about the format, duration and style of questions are still not available,” Bhola rued.
CUET counselling
DU, in its information bulletin, has announced that admissions to all programmes will be through a centralised e-counselling procedure on the basis of CUET scores. “To minimise the number of rounds of counselling, and to start the academic session on time, the university may explore the possibility of admitting candidates over and above the sanctioned strength in the initial rounds of counselling,” it said. Further details related to admission processes such as e-counselling, tie-breaking rules, etc., would be notified separately. The new system will disallow colleges to announce individual cut-off lists and will admit students based on the centralised counselling.
Minority Colleges like St. Stephens that followed its own process of admission will also admit students based on CUET scores in the general category seats. For 50% of seats reserved in minority colleges, 85% of the marks for admission will be taken from CUET and the remaining 15% will be decided by the colleges, the university added.
