Unmukt Chand bats his way to second year

Leapfrogging

Delhi University (DU) on Friday announced that India’s under-19 World Cup cricket captain Unmukt Chand would be promoted as a second year student at St Stephen’s College after he was barred from giving his first-year exams in view of poor attendance.

This comes after criticism from all quarters and Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal spoke to DU’s vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh.

“In view of his outstanding achievement that has been recognised by DU, and being under the ambit of the rarest of rare cases in a field of sport where there is a board of control at the national and international level, also recognised by the Government of India, Chand is allowed to move to second year,” said a statement from the DU registrar’s office.

“He is allowed to attempt to clear his examinations during the course of the third and fourth semesters for the backlog of the first two semesters,” said the statement.
Calling the decision unfair, Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Thursday assured to take up the matter with DU and the college administration.

“The university and the college authorities should find a way out for such sportspersons,” Maken reportedly said.

Team India cricket captain Mahinder Singh Dhoni also came in support for Chand when he tweeted: “Marks for sports takes back seat, attendance for now takes centrestage. This shows how much importance sports has in India. Sad to hear”.

The registrar’s statement said the varsity has taken note of Unmukt’s success. “He has distinguished himself and brought laurels to the nation through his exploits in cricket by not only representing his country, but by playing a crucial role in helping India to win the World Cup (under 19) a few days ago,” said the
 statement.

Alumni association members of St Stephen’s College wrote a letter to the V-C, asking to act quickly or Chand may lose a year and may have to seek legal help.
Chand is a BA student and could not meet DU’s 33 per cent attendance rule. He was barred from taking his first-year BA (part-1) final exam. Earlier, Principal Valson Thampu had said that he does not have the power to promote Chand and such a decision can only be made by the vice-chancellor.