JOIN USTussle over OBC admissions still on
Activists who have been raising the issue of discrepancies in Other Backward Classes (OBC) category admissions in Delhi University’s undergraduate colleges will stage a protest on Thursday.
“Many colleges are still not lowering cut-offs, outstation students were refused admissions even after making the cut-off due to non clarity over reserved category admission process. They are the worst sufferers,” said Kedar Mandal, professor and president of Academic Forum for Social Justice.
The 9th cut-off list was declared on Wednesday where most of the prominent colleges have closed their OBC admissions or have a few seats left.
According to Mandal, a meeting will be held on Thursday with senior DU officials. “I can't tell you who will be a part of this meeting, however what I have got to know is that in the meeting every college will come out with a notification regarding the number of OBC seats left in each course,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of DU’s principals’ association have been raising concern over the order given by the Union ministry for human resource development (MHRD) last month regarding admitting reserved category students on the basis of the total actual intake.
MHRD has asked colleges to admit reserved category (SC/ST/OBC) students by
calculating the total intake and not on the basis of sanctioned seats. In general category there is over admission as many students leave once the admissions for engineering, medical and management colleges start in August or September.
Although colleges are now calculating the number of reserved category seats on the basis of the total general admissions, they are unclear as to what to do once number of students admitted in the general category drop.
“Admissions usually used to take place on sanctioned strength in reserved category. Now we are unclear because if we calculate the total intake after the general category students leave, do we have to cancel reserved category admissions also?” said a member
“As their admissions are based on the total intake, if the strength drops in the general category, ideally it has to be reduced in the reserved category as well,” the member added.
The members have also written to the Vice Chancellor, stating the confusion. “We are waiting for a reply,” the member added.