Covid-19 outbreak: Delhi University may shift admission process completely online

Delhi University (DU) on Friday recommended to all its colleges to shift the admission process completely online, including the verification of documents and certificates,

Delhi University (DU) on Friday recommended to all its colleges to shift the admission process completely online, including the verification of documents and certificates, for the academic session 2020-21, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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In a communication sent to colleges on Friday, Shobha Bagai, the dean of admissions, said that the varsity’s admissions branch has been working towards ensuring a friendly admission process for the students for the coming academic session amid the pandemic. “There have been conscious efforts to minimise visits of the students for physical verification of the mandatory documents during the admission process. In the current scenario, it is recommended that it becomes more imperative to have the complete admission process online, which also includes the online verification of the certificates,” it stated.

In DU, the process of registration for admission to undergraduate courses and submission of fee is already online. However, candidates have to visit the colleges of their choice for the verification of certificates and documents to complete the admission process.

The varsity’s admission branch has also asked all colleges to provide information about the number of course combinations offered by them and the additional eligibility criteria by Monday.

The registration process for admission in DU colleges begins in the last week of May every year, immediately after the announcement of CBSE class 12 results. However, this year, the CBSE had to suspend exams midway after a nationwide lockdown was announced to contain the spread of Sars-Cov-2. The board is yet to announce a fresh date sheet for the remaining exams.

Although the university has not announced any delay in the admission process as of now, a senior official said they are monitoring the situation. “We are not sure for how long the lockdown will continue. We will wait for the CBSE and other state boards to complete their exams and announce results before starting the registration process. We are also waiting for some communication on this from the University Grant Commission,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

Besides, the university has asked all colleges to make relevant information about the admission process available on their websites, including names of courses offered and the number of reserved seats under different categories in each course. The colleges were also asked to constitute their own admission teams to coordinate the process.

Some college principals, meanwhile, said it won’t be feasible to verify certificates and documents online. “On one hand, the university asks us to do forensic checking of the certificates and documents and on the other, it’s now recommending online verification. The university’s colleges are not equipped for that. The varsity should postpone the admission process by a week or two rather than bring in sudden changes,” said the principal of a north campus college, requesting anonymity.

DU postpones semester exams

Delhi University has postponed all theory and practical exams scheduled this month as well as for the next month till further notice, amid the coronavirus outbreak. In a notification, the university said the date sheets issued earlier now stand withdrawn and fresh dates will be issued soon. The university has also postponed exams of the School of Open Learning (SOL) and Non-Collegiate Women’s Board (NCWEB).

DU is shut till April 14 in view of the 21-day nationwide lockdown. A senior university official said, “The UGC has constituted a committee to take a decision on the completion of exams and the academic calendar for all central universities. We will issue a fresh notification for the examination based on the recommendations of that committee.”