JOIN USThe first day of admissions was replete with confusion and queries as admission seekers flocked Delhi University colleges.
A sudden change in the admission criteria and high cut-offs kept students guessing.
The first cut-off list announced on Tuesday gave no respite to outstation students. Some said they plan to extend their stay till the third cut-off list is out.
“I am cancelling my Thursday’s reservation as the first cut-off list is too high. I hope to secure a seat either in the second or third list,” said Suresh Reddy from Hyderabad.
Most parents are expecting second and third cut-off lists to be more reasonable and realistic. “Colleges are apprehension of over admissions,” said president of DU Principals’ Association S K Garg.
In seven colleges, cut-offs range above 99 per cent. Two colleges in South Campus – Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma and Acharya Narendra Dev – the cut-off is 100 per cent for BSc (Hons) in Computer Science.
“Why doesn’t DU increase the number of seats as limited seats are one of the major reasons for high cut-offs,” said Prem Kumaran, one of the many parents who accompanied their wards on the day of admission.
“Being a government university, it should give a fair chance to everyone.”
The parents also complained about the differential additional eligibility criteria in DU colleges. “These additional eligibility criteria are a big mess.
One college says extra two per cent are needed, another says extra one per cent are needed,” said Reddy.
Additional eligibility criteria for various courses give advantage to students who opted for the same elective in class 12 exams, said an official at Gargi College.
At many colleges, students also face a deduction of marks for inclusion of vocational courses in best-of-four aggregate.
In order to keep the admission process simple and centralised, the university had earlier announced scrapping of additional eligibility criteria - which varies from college to college.
But after curtains came down on the controversial four-year undergraduate courses, the university gave back colleges its power to conduct admissions.
While some complained about the lack of enough seats in colleges, outstation parents grumbled about either lack of hostel facilities in colleges or limited hostel seats in some colleges.
“Delhi is too costly. Taking a flat or a paying guest accommodation would cost us too much. Securing a seat in hostel of the college of our choice is another harrowing process, said a parent Deepali Tondon from Bareilly.
On day one of DU admission, students also had to go through long admission process that involved tiresome process of document verification and fee submission.
A week behind schedule due to row over the FYUP, admissions to academic session 2014-15 started on Tuesday.