It was also a day of chaos

Two admission seekers from Assam were in transit as confusion reigned over Delhi University.

They were heading for the capital on the assumption that admissions would begin on Tuesday.  But during the nearly 24-hour train journey, things changed for Gaurav Dhanawat and his schoolmate Karan Mahanta in Bongaigaon.

After the University Grants Commission issued a stern order, threatening DU colleges of “serious consequences” in case they went ahead with the contentious four-year undergraduate programme, the Principals’ Association decided to defer admissions till unambiguous guidelines are received by colleges.

But this decision on Monday has created confusion for students.

“We thought we would get some help, but they have no information,” said Dhanawat on Tuesday. “I came to Delhi with my parents early this morning.”

‘Check DU website’

Volunteers at the help desk set up by the university told students to check the DU website regularly. “We want to study BCom in DU because there is more scope in Delhi. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a four-year or three-year programme,” Mahanta said.

With both students scoring little less than the 95 per cent marks, they expect to make it to one of the North Campus colleges like Ramjas or Hansraj.

According to university figures, over one lakh applicants are from outside Delhi, mostly from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Bihar. UP and Uttarakhand combined have over 66,000 applicants.

Mahanta and Dhanawat ruled out the possibility of returning to Assam. “We will wait until the colleges start with the admission process.”

Colleges in the meantime expressed inability to start the admission process anytime soon. “We haven’t decided the cut-offs. There is need for more clarity,” said Rajendra Prasad, principal of Ramjas College.

Principals blamed the standoff between UGC and DU for the unprecedented situation. All the colleges are busy submitting compliance report over rollback of the FYUP.

Shri Ram College of Commerce, which initially issued cut-offs, withdrew the decision to go ahead with the admission process following the decision by the Principals’ Association. SRCC principal P C Jain said he is waiting for the final call over rollback of FYUP.