Preferring college over course

DU ADMISSION

Despite having 95 percent I am not getting admission in B.Com (Hons) in any of the top colleges of the Delhi University.

There’s no point studying in a lesser known college so it’s better to switch over to some other subject in a good college,” says Srishti. Apparently, securing a seat in a college is more important for Srishti than the course she wants to pursue. And it is for this reason she decides to take English (Hons) in SGTB Khalsa rather than going for the course of her choice in any other college.

This is the case with almost every student who has secured good percent in board exams and is not getting admission in any of the known DU colleges. Surprisingly, even the combo of high cut-offs in lesser known colleges and good faculty there, is not able to change their mindsets when it comes to selection.

A clear example is Ram Lal Anand College, which despite having 100 per cent cut-off failed to attract too many computer science aspirants with its first cut-off. It failed to recreate the same scene when Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) came with the same cut-off in 2011.

“Youngsters are having this mindset because for them graduation degree is a brand item,” says Dr Tapas Rajan Saha, professor of Economics, Sri Aurobindo College. “Ideally, students should work on gaining expertise in a subject they like the most but they run after prestigious colleges. Here, they lack clarity regarding their priorities in life. I am not against prestigious colleges but the lack of understanding among students who undervalue their subject,” he says.

Tapas, however, doesn’t blame students. “A college attains prestige with the combination of good students and faculty. In not so reputed colleges this combination does not exist. The reason is simple, good students go for good colleges while those who are bit weak in studies join lesser known colleges. So, in that case even good faculty cannot do anything. This mismatch of students and teachers is the reason why lesser known colleges fail to charm despite high cut-offs.”

Underpinning Tapas’ view is Saswati Sengupta, teacher in-charge, English Department, Miranda House. She shares that a student should understand that some of best teachers are teaching in these lesser known colleges. “You cannot say that less popular colleges don’t have good faculty. Students should know that there are very good teachers in those colleges. Since, it’s the University that appoints teachers in different colleges to maintain uniformity students should understand it is the subject that should matter more.”

Meanwhile, speaking from a student’s perspective, Sumit Nandan, teacher-in-charge of Philosophy, Hindu College says, “Students know that they can take subject of their choice in Discipline II also, so they are right now focusing on colleges and want to grab a seat in any of the top
college.”