No foolproof way to curb fake admissions?

Its admission time again. It’s time for tension and anxiety again for students who wants to book a seat in the prestigious Delhi University. Last year the University was marred with charges of fake admissions in one of its colleges.

A year after the scam, colleges are planning to be extra careful. Though college officials insist there is no foolproof way of identifying fake documents at the time of admission, they are still going to devise measures to avoid getting conned by aspiring but undeserving candidates. The revelation had led to busting of a gang operating on North Campus who helps students make fake mark sheets.

“There is no scientific method of identifying fake certificates and mark sheets. But, we will make sure that there is no such case in our college.

Every student seeking ad­m­i­ssion will first have to get his documents verified by the department he is seeking admission to, followed by the Central Admission Committee who will cross-check mark sheets on the internet. We will appoint more teachers to approve the documents at a third level before confirming admission and lastly the document has to be signed by me,” said Pradyumn Kumar, acting principal, Hindu College.
“If by any chance a student does not have his/her mark sheet on the net, we will send them to the resident commissioner of that state who will attest them post detailed scrutiny.”

The pressure to secure admission in well-known colleges is matched in measure by the pressure to secure ‘good marks’ in Board exams.

Experts blame it on unreasonably high cut-offs in Delhi University where dozens - even those who have scored in 80s and early 90s, have difficulty getting admissions.

Abha Dev Habib, member Delhi University Teacher’s Association (DUTA) and a Phy­s­i­cs professor in Miranda House says, “It is very difficult to curb this situation as there is so much rush at admission time. Besides, concerned officials are not trained to go thr­ough mark sheets. Plus, the ever-increasing demand for seats in DU is at a premium which explains rising cut-offs. This in turn results in pressure on the students.

“This possibly explains why students commit this heinous crime.” Abha emphasises training the non-teaching staff to curb this racket. “There should regular training programmes and there should be continuity in that process.”

There has also always been a tug-of-war between the Ministry of HRD and DU over the former’s decisions on how the administrative processes (in the latter) should be run.
First, DU was unhappy over the semester system and now a plan of four year graduation is in the pipeline which will be implemented soon. But, as far as the admission procedures are concerned DU makes its own guidelines with some suggestions from HRD. But there is no smooth sailing on the issue.  

Uma Gupta, a Reader in a South Campus College says, “There is little clarity in University hierarchy. Guidelines are sent (by DU) after every few weeks. The University has been running on a trial basis or as a workshop. As for fake admissions, the system has no fool-proof method to curb them and needs to be looked at in-depth before solutions are arrived at.” Meanwhile, all the best.