Given Delhi University’s announcement to shortly launch an online common seat allocation mechanism, it appears that confusion around admissions and the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) is not going away anytime soon.
The portal will be operational in the first week of September, according to a recent announcement by Haneet Gandhi, Delhi University’s Dean (Admissions). The university will provide applicants with a three-week window to register on the admission portal. The portal will soon be launched, vice chancellor Yogesh Singh has also confirmed.
Students who want to attend the University of Delhi are both excited and perplexed about this new admissions system. To make it easier for students to understand the new system, the university also issued a notification explaining how the admission process will be conducted. The admission process under the Common Seat allocation System will be done in three phases.
In the phase first, the students will submit the application form for their preferred choice of subjects. Phase two will begin after the announcement of CUET-UG 2022 results. In this phase, the candidate will be given the option to select the programme in which they want to secure admission. After the announcement of the CUET scores, the candidates will have to confirm the programme-specific CUET-UG merit score.
The candidate will be chosen for the registered programme through a merit list in the final and third phases. Talking to this newspaper, the senior official of the university said that currently no further information has been released regarding the new admission portal, though things will become clear in the coming days.
In case more than one student has the same CUET score, then the marks obtained by the students in their class 12th would be considered for admission. The marks of the best three subjects would be considered in such a situation. In similar cases, marks of the best four and five subjects would be considered. And, if it doesn’t solve the issue then the seat would be allotted to the candidate who is older.
The principal of Ambedkar College RN Dubey said, “The colleges have nothing to do with the admission portal. It will be completely dealt with by the university.” He said, “Till now we have no clarity regarding the admission process. As soon as we get any notification or order from higher authorities, we will surely circulate it.” The school has been holding seminars and other counselling sessions to try to clear up any confusion regarding the new admissions system.
Principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka, Sudha Acharya, said, “We organised a counselling session with experts in which we informed our students about the admission process.” Starting this year, Delhi University has abolished the merit system based on the 12th board exam for its admission into undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and for the first time, the aspirants will be required to pass the CUET.
Every academic year, Delhi University welcomes new students from all over the nation. This year, as an entrance exam system came into effect, students have been both relieved about the level playing field as well as tormented about the botched examination exercise.
More than 14 lakh students registered for the entrance exam, which continued to be the subject of debate because of technical difficulties it encountered throughout its execution. Numerous students reported that they were compelled to leave the exam due to a last-minute change in their exam locations.
Many of those who were able to retake the test encountered problems submitting their answer sheets and other technical difficulties.
The CUET was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Both excitement and disappointment have been sparked by the drastic changes in the admission process. Many anticipate that it will level the playing field for Indian students from various educational boards and backgrounds. At the same time, some parents and students questioned if it would be put into practice in the admissions process.
Pradyuman Kotiyal’s CUET examination location was listed on his admit card as a college in Dwarka. However, the guards there informed him that the centre had been moved to a different area of Delhi when he arrived.
The ordeal narrated by Pradyuman is the story of hundreds of students who missed their chance to get admission in DU due to a last-minute change in the examination centre. Some were able to reappear on the next date. However, all of them share one common factor which leads to this confusion.
Uncertainty prevails
Many students and parents attributed the last-minute confusion to the NTA’s ambiguous notification regarding the change in exam locations. Students claimed that the notification didn’t mention the centres’ relocation.
“I’m disappointed and enraged. I’m not going to waste my one year. Students were told that there would be a re-examination, but I wasn’t informed about it,” he said. Santosh Maurya’s ordeal was no different. Ritika, his daughter, was supposed to take the exam at a centre in Rohini, but she was told that she had to take it in a remote place in South Delhi. So, the girl reached the exam centre late.
Students turn to SOL, IGNOU
Rishipal Choudhry, a parent, is planning to put her daughter into the School of Open Learning after she could not take the CUET. “Parents in my circle whose children were able to take the test are also pondering upon open schooling from IGNOU as there is too much uncertainty over the admission process,” he said.
“If the previous system were still in place, there would still have been a chance for my daughter to get admission in a decent college as there were multiple cut-off lists,” he added. Maurya also said that he has also advised her daughetr to opt for IGNOU. “She could try CUET next year as well. Right now, it’s important to save an academic year,” he added. The new process has a direct impact on the future of thousands of students who aspire for an affordable education at one of the best universities in the country.
With the Delhi University announcing that it will soon introduce an online common seat allocation system, it seems unlikely that confusion over admissions and the CUET procedure will be resolved any time soon. Amit Pandey and Javaria Rana hear from students and parents their opinions regarding the new admission process