Pitfalls of vocational studies

Getting admission into Delhi University may be an uphill struggle for the thousands of hopefuls who opted for more than one vocational subject in Class 12. Geetika Aggarwal reports.

Getting admission into Delhi University may be an uphill struggle for the thousands of hopefuls who opted for more than one vocational subject in Class 12.

HT Image

The College of Vocational Studies will no longer offer the Bachelor of Arts course in vocational studies, making it tougher for those aspirants who chose to study vocational subjects at the senior-secondary level to get admissions.

According to DU’s admission criteria based on merit, an applicant has to take into account the percentage secured in the best four (in some courses, three) subjects, which must include one core language and three elective subjects.

Some colleges allow applicants to incorporate marks obtained in any one of the vocational subjects, including physical education, home science, music, information practice and fine arts, in the best-of-four aggregates for admission to certain courses with negative weightage. Most of the colleges, however, do not recognise vocational subjects, putting many hopefuls at a significant disadvantage.

The Central Board of Secondary Examination lists home science, physical education, fine art (painting and drawing) as academic subjects and offers 23 vocational subjects such as travel and tourism, X-ray technology, health care and beauty culture.

A similar problem arises with applicants who have opted for two core languages in Class 11 and 12 instead of opting for one core language and one elective language.