At DU, Sanskrit finds few takers

The fourth cut-off list has sealed the fate of most students who had been waiting for a seat in Delhi University. Shaswati Das reports.

The fourth cut-off list has sealed the fate of most students who had been waiting for a seat in Delhi University.

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With little deviation from the third list, most colleges have closed admission to most courses in the fourth list.

However, one of the few subjects that is yet to see such a closure is Sanskrit (honours), with cut-offs for the same dropping only marginally in each list.

The cut-off mark for Sanskrit has gone down only slightly in the fourth list in most colleges.

In off-campus colleges such as Bharti and Deshbandhu, the cut-off for the subject is 45-50%, while in other colleges like Hindu and Hansraj, it lies between 52-62%.

"This is happening as the subject has not found much favour with students because of the social stigma attached to it. There are students who want to study English because it can fetch them a job later," said Ashutosh Mathur, head of the department (Sanskrit), St. Stephen's College.

"There are several placement problems associated with Sanskrit. Therefore, people prefer to study other subjects such as Commerce and Economics, which have become more sought after," he added.

Students, on the other hand, feel that adequate attention has not been paid to making the subject at par with other courses offered by the University.

"A few colleges in Delhi University (DU) offer foreign languages as certificate courses after college hours. The subject can be introduced as a certificate course," said Niyati Anand, pursuing Sanskrit from DU.

However, college authorities across DU are looking at upgrading the course to incorporate other disciplines within its framework.

"We are hoping to integrate aspects of sociology, history, philosophy and other humanities subjects with Sanskrit," Mathur added.