Entry for OBCs made easy

Making the cut at Delhi University will be easier for students from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) this year. Mallica Joshi reports. Course profile | Where to get DU application forms

Making the cut at Delhi University will be easier for students from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) this year.

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A large number of applicants are expected to benefit from a Supreme Court order mandating a reduction of 10% for OBC candidates in the eligibility criteria, and not the cut-off.

To be eligible for admission in most of DU’s courses, applicants from the general category should have scored a minimum of 50% in the Class 12 board exams. This means that OBC applicants will be eligible if they score a minimum of 45% — in other words, 10% less than the 50% required for general category students.

Till last year, DU would hive off up to 10% from the general category cut-off list for OBC candidates. This year, however, the varsity’s colleges will have to lower their cut-offs till the time all the seats are filled. Each college is required to reserve 27% of its seats for OBC candidates.

“We have been getting a large number of queries regarding admissions under the OBC category. There seems to be a lot of confusion. We are trying to address all questions through our Open Day sessions,” said JM Khurana, DU’s dean of student welfare.

“I don’t know which form to fill: the centralised form the college form or a separate university form. No specific information is available on the Internet, either,” said Kritika, who goes by her first name, at an Open Day session on Friday.

The university will not issue any specific forms for OBC candidates. Like last year, the students will have to fill up the centralised OMR forms on which they will have to mark their category as OBC. The form costs R100.

“It is mandatory for applicants to produce certificates in their names to show that they belong to the OBC category. Along with this, they have to produce an income proof of their parents certifying that their combined annual income is below R4.5 lakh . Only if these conditions are met will a student be given admission. The OBC certificate of parents alone will not do," said Suchitra Gupta, the varsity’s deputy dean of cultural affairs.

Last year, many colleges had failed to fill their OBC seats in various courses. This year, there is little chance such a scenario repeating itself. Students, however, are anxious about the cut-off lists.

“I have no idea on which basis the colleges will declare the cut-offs this time. Till last year, at least we were able to predict our scores using the previous year's cut-offs. There is no such benchmark now,” said Prashant Rai, who scored 67% in his board exams.

Course profile | Where to get DU application forms