Delhi University’s first-year UG batch commences

Delhi University (DU) on Tuesday welcomed a new batch of undergraduate students for the 2026–27 academic session

Delhi University (DU) on Tuesday welcomed a new batch of undergraduate students for the 2026–27 academic session. Despite the rainfall, waterlogged streets, and atmosphere after the Cockroach Janta Party protests, environment in campuses was filled with excitement and anticipation.

Students during orientation at Miranda House. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

In a post on X on Tuesday, DU welcomed its first-year undergraduate students. “We welcome all first-year students to the University of Delhi. We wish you the very best as you step into this new life, the college life. May these years build a strong foundation for your future, and may you shine as you contribute to building the nation,” the university said.

While excitement was the dominant emotion among thousands of students, many were sceptical about joining colleges just after the students’ protest ended.

An 18-year-old from Bengaluru, requesting anonymity, said he followed the CJP online but had mixed feelings about joining a physical protest especially after the university’s advisory.

“I came to Delhi just few days before the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. I had mixed feelings about the joining the physical protest especially after the university’s advisory to refrain from participating in the demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. There were many DU students, but as someone who just joined, I feared it would negatively impact my admission” the 18-year-old who joined SRCC said.

“I came to Delhi on July 23 to figure accommodation before classes start. However, my parents were a little worried because of the protest at Jantar Mantar was still ongoing. But I am glad the classes began as scheduled,” said Agarwal.

Agarwal’s 18-year-old batchmate, Sunay Antonio from Hyderabad, said that while classes had not begun yet, he was excited to meet his professors.

Many students said that the incessant rain disrupted plans to explore the campus.

Tejashwi Kushwaha,17, a first-year undergraduate B.Com (Hons.) student at SRCC, said, ”I had a lot of fun during the orientation and wanted to explore the campus afterwards but rain combined with some administrative difficulties prevented me from that.” Kushwaha hails from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Similarly, Kshama Pandey, a first-year B.Sc. (Life Sciences) student at Delhi University’s Sri Venkateswara College, said, “I took a picture as soon as I arrived at the college and thought I would click selfies after the orientation. But by the time it ended, it had started raining. So, I have one good picture from my first day of college but I’m not in it.”

17-year-old Pranjali, a first-year History (Hons.) student at Hindu College, said the diversity of her batch excites her the most. “All my life, I have lived in Haryana. On the first day of college, I have already met with students from Maharashtra, Kerala, and several other states. I’m excited to study alongside people from such diverse backgrounds and learn from their experiences,” said Pranjali.

“There are so many societies in the college, and I am also excited to join the debating and civil services society,” she added.

While many colleges held orientation programmes on Tuesday, St. Stephen’s College, which held its orientation on July 27, began regular classes.

According to the latest admission data released by the University of Delhi (DU), around 63,756 and 24,814 candidates were allotted seats in the first and second rounds of the admission process, respectively. However, these figures do not represent the total number of students admitted across the more than 71,000 undergraduate seats offered by DU’s 67 affiliated colleges

As the fresh batch of students arrived, student organisations such as Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) set up banners and stalls to invite newcomers to join their memberships.