Postponement of board exams to hit admissions at DU colleges, foreign varsities

CBSE on Wednesday postponed Class 12 exams in view of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country.

With the Central Board Secondary Education (CBSE) postponing Class 12 exams at least till June on Wednesday, officials at several Delhi University colleges said the admission process for undergraduate courses will be delayed by a few months this year.

HT reported on Wednesday that the Delhi University will wait for the majority of the education boards in the country to complete their Class 12 exams before starting the admission process. (Amal KS/HT PHOTO)

CBSE on Wednesday postponed Class 12 exams in view of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic across the country.

Experts said those who apply in foreign universities won’t be impacted much. Sakshi Mittal, founder of career counselling agency University Leap, said: “Foreign universities are being very supportive in terms of extending deadlines for submitting final results. Their admissions are based on a holistic process which includes marks of classes 9-12, activities, essays, so they aren’t dependant on class 12 marks alone. In fact many Canadian universities are giving unconditional letters already so students can start applying for visa.” She added that those applying to universities in the UK may face some problems since there, the admission is offered only after the submission of Class 12 marks.

HT reported on Wednesday that the Delhi University will wait for the majority of the education boards in the country to complete their Class 12 exams before starting the admission process. DU’s dean of admissions Pinki Sharma said: “A majority of aspirants in DU are from CBSE-affiliated schools and that’s why our admission process is directly linked with CBSE exams. It’s natural that the admission process will get delayed by a few months again this year.” Last year, the registration process began in June, and the first cut-off was announced in October. The academic session, which normally begins in DU in July, began in November.

The university is also planning to adopt Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) from this year for admission to various undergraduate courses, and waiting for the Centre to notify the test. Under the new system, the test score and Class 12 marks both will be considered for admission to undergraduate courses at DU. An official said: “In case the Class 12 exams get cancelled, then we will have to come up with some other admission criteria this year. But that’s an extreme situation. We will wait and watch now.”

Mahesh Verma, vice-chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University or IP University, said: “There will be a ripple effect of the postponement of CBSE exam on our admission process. It happened last year also. We completed our admission process late December. Though we conduct entrance exams for admission to different courses, but an aspirant has to have a minimum percentage of marks in Class 12 to be eligible to write the exam. So, we will wait in the best interest of students.”

Officials at Jamia Millia Islamia said they will also have to delay their admission process. Registrar Nazim Hussain said, “The university has also decided to postpone Class 10 and 12 exams of its own schools. This will definitely delay the admission process by some months. ”

Some private universities have altered their admission process. A spokesperson at Shiv Nadar University said, “Our admission process largely remains unaffected by the CBSE decision. We are making provisional admission offers to candidates based on their performance in the remotely-proctored entrance tests and personal interviews. Selected candidates need to secure a stipulated minimum percentage in Class 12 exams to secure admission, which can be updated whenever the results are declared.”