Unrealistically high cut-offs a reason for vacant seats
NEW DELHI: The last academic session at Delhi University saw unrealistically high cut-off percentages for various undergraduate courses, with the previously unimaginable 100 per cent barrier being breached in many disciplines in colleges of North Campus.
"Students compare colleges on the basis of cut-off percentages. The higher the cut-off, the better the college. Therefore, off-campus colleges increase their cut-offs as well," said Dr Rajesh Giri, principal of Rajdhani College, situated in west Delhi's Rajouri Garden.
Dr Giri further said the problem of high cut-offs is facilitated because colleges in North Campus do not come up with realistic cut-offs.
Despite releasing 11 cut-off lists being released last year, many seats remained vacant in the country's premium varsity.
"The issue of vacant seats and high cut-offs will remain a bone of contention, as long as the admission system in the University remains such that it brews conflict," said Dr Suresh Kumar Garg, principal of Deen Dyal Upadhyaya College, an off-campus college which was ranked third in the recent National Institutional Ranking Framework rankings.
"To brave this issue, colleges should have autonomy. Then only this problem can be addressed properly," asserted Dr Garg.
"We try to come up with reasonable cut-offs, so as to fill the seats, in spite of some other colleges going overboard with sky-high cut-offs" said Dr. Jatinder Bir Singh, principal of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce.
Dr Singh also highlighted the fact that students often migrate from one college to another after securing admission in the latter one. This further contributes to the problem of vacant seats, a fact corroborated by Dr Balram Pani, principal of Bhaskaracharya College Of Applied Sciences.
"Five realistic cut-offs can solve the problem of high cut-offs and vacant seats simultaneously," said Dr Pani. This time, the DU administration plans to limit the number of cut-off lists to five. However, no clear set of guidelines is there in place yet, in case seats remain vacant.
