E-Paper
DU admissions begin, over 19k register online on Day 1
New Delhi: Over 19,500 applicants had registered for admissions to Delhi University’s various undergraduate courses in just about four hours as the admissions began
New Delhi: Over 19,500 applicants had registered for admissions to Delhi University’s various undergraduate courses in just about four hours as the admissions began on Saturday. While 19,543 applicants had registered online for the undergraduate courses, 5,889 registered for postgraduate courses and 457 registered for PhD, university officials said.
DU on Saturday started the online registration process for admission to its various undergraduate, postgraduate, Mphil, and PhD courses. Applicants will get a two-week window ending on July 4 to register for the courses.
The Bulletin of Information, which contains guidelines on university’s admission procedure, was uploaded on the DU website at around 5pm and the registration portal was also made operational for applicants.
In 2019, applicants got an over three-week window from May 30 to June 22 to register for admissions and the first cut-off list was announced on June 28. This year, however, the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the admission schedule. The dates of the first cut-off are yet to be decided as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is yet to conduct its twelve main class 12 papers. The exams are due to be held between July 1 and 15. (Multiple papers were pending for CBSE. But on April 1 CBSE said it would conduct the remaining exams in only major subjects for class 12 including Business Studies and Computer Studies.)
Dean (admissions) Shobha Bagai said on Satuday that the admission process this time will be “contact-less” and completely online. “We have a link with the CBSE portal to directly verify the marksheets online. This time, we have also written to all educational boards across the country to share the link of the portal where their results will be announced so that colleges can easily verify the marksheets,” she said at a press conference. “The University had been planning the complete online admission for quite some time but the Covid-19 pandemic catalyzed the process,” she added.
Applicants in previous years could visit the university and colleges to clarify their doubts or follow the admission procedures through Open Day events. This year, DU will instead conduct webinars in the coming days to clear up any doubts applicants have.
“We will have dedicated helpline numbers where students can post in their queries. We will also be conducting webinars guiding students through the process,” Bagai said.
Unlike last year, candidates opting for Bachelor of Arts courses will not undergo a percentage deduction if they switch from science or commerce streams. No additional eligibility criteria will be set by the colleges besides the ones stipulated in the Bulletin of Information, the document read.
This is also the first time that trials for sports and extracurricular activities(ECA) will not be held due to the pandemic. While students will get admission under the sports category on the basis of their certificates, for ECA, only NSS and NCC certificates will be considered instead of 14 activities such as music, dance and debate among others listed till last year.
While the bulletin mentions that there will be five cut-offs for students, the admissions committee is yet to release the tentative schedule for the first cut-off. Bagai explained that this is due to the uncertainty over CBSE results. “Earlier we were told that the CBSE results were likely to come around August 15 after they conducted their pending class 12 exams. Since the Supreme Court has asked CBSE to look for other alternatives, there is a possibility that the results might be declared sooner. We will release our tentative schedule by the second or third week of July when things are clearer,” she said.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be conducting the entrance tests to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in DU in 20 cities across India and the schedule will be released in the coming days.
Hours after it went live, some students faced issues in accessing the website. “On the very first day of admissions, the website for UG admissions wasn’t working. DU is planning on holding its first ever online open book examination after 10 days. But it has failed terribly in making an efficient and secure online infrastructure for even filling admission forms,” said Akshay Lakra, president of the Delhi unit of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).
