St Stephen’s College writes to Delhi University over interview for all

In his letter, college principal John Varghese said that the college intends to follow the CUET as decided by the university without compromising on the rights and privileges granted to it by the Constitution of India.

St Stephen’s College on Thursday requested Delhi University (DU) to reconsider its position and accept the college’s request to hold interviews for all candidates for admitting students to undergraduate courses.

St Stephen’s College has time and again stated that it reserves the right to admit students as per its own admission policy given that it is a minority institution. (Amal KS/Hindustan Times)

In his letter, college principal John Varghese said that the college intends to follow the CUET as decided by the university without compromising on the rights and privileges granted to it by the Constitution of India. He also quoted a 1992 judgement by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court which stated, “St Stephen’s as a Christian minority institution has its own admission procedures approved by the highest court in the land and guaranteed by the Constitution of India.”

He added that the university had not taken into consideration the 1992 judgement which came about during a similar stand-off between the college and DU. “Both the university and the college have observed this to the benefit of all. To suddenly forget the process that the college has followed and which the university has approved for the last four decades and more is strange indeed,” wrote Varghese.

While requesting the varsity to abide by the judgement of the Supreme Court, Varghese said that all candidates who apply to the college shall face the same admission procedures, without discrimination. “As an institution managed and run by the Church of North India, we reserve the right to encourage and support members of the denomination that runs the college,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, Delhi University had informed the minority institution that it will annul all admissions made by the college in violation of the Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUET) guidelines after the college released a prospectus reiterating that it will admit students to undergraduate courses while sticking to its stated 85:15 (CUET score: interviews) weightage formula. In the prospectus, the college stated that it will adopt the CUET as the eligibility criteria with 85% weightage given to CUET scores and 15% to personal interviews. While the college wants to hold interviews for all candidates, DU wants students to be admitted to general seats only on the basis of CUET scores.

Delhi University registrar Vikas Gupta said that they had received the letter and the university will explore all available options and reply to the college in a day or two.

“The college has written to us and requested that the university reconsider its position (on the aspect of holding interviews for all candidates). They want us to accept the formula proposed by it for admissions. We will assess all legal options and revert to the college in a day or two,” said Gupta.

Varghese did not respond to calls and text messages seeking his comment on the latest development.

Gupta, meanwhile, cited the example of Christian Medical College, Vellore, which used to admit students for medical courses via entrance tests, and said that the court had asked the college to admit students through NEET. “There is a similar possibility here. If there is a common university entrance test in place then why does the college want to have its own mechanism? We need to assess various possibilities and take a look at the college’s request. After exploring all options, we will convey our stand to the college,” said Gupta.

To be sure, 50% of seats in minority colleges are reserved for students belonging to the community which runs the institution. St Stephen’s College and Jesus and Mary College are two Christian minority institutions under Delhi University.

St Stephen’s has time and again stated that it reserves the right to admit students as per its own admission policy given that it is a minority institution. The college also issued a circular in April stating that it will provide admissions based on formula of 85% CUET scores and 15% interview marks for all categories. Since then, the college and the university have been at loggerheads over the admission policy.