If scoring 97% can't get you the right college in DU, what's the point?
On the flip side, states like Haryana and Punjab barely fill seats at their universities
Not many years ago, going to a college was an exciting time in a graduate's life. It was the time for shopping for new outfits, since you did not have to wear that dreaded school uniform anymore; it was a time away from the disciplinary gaze of the teachers.
In fact, according to most Bollywood films it was the time to fall in love… No college initiation was complete without a dance around the campus, Govinda-style!
Reality
Now when you drive by Gargi or Ramjas College, reality hits you hard. It is a different image altogether. There are serpentine queues of parents and aspiring young graduates standing outside universities and colleges with that look of expectation on their faces. Many are filling forms carrying that telltale file full of documents, some even sitting on the pavement in the sweltering heat.
Some have that fresh-off-the-train look from having travelled from various states in the country to the capital since the number of out of station students continues to be on the rise.
This is perhaps because the prestige of having studied at a well-known university counts, not just on the work CV and in the marriage market, but also it has a huge psychological impact on the confidence level of the students and their parents.
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| Disproportionate distribution of students leads to an overcrowding of universities in tier-I cities. |
It appears hard to deny that to any aspiring student even while the number of students outnumbers the available seats.
More often than not, university cities like Delhi, Vadodara, Chennai and Kolkata are more crowded than a fish market during the admission time.
On the flip side, states like Haryana and Punjab barely fill seats at their universities.
This disproportionate distribution of students leads to an overcrowding of universities in tier-I cities.
Given this situation the introduction of the CCEE (Centralised Common Entrance Examination) is intended as a tool that may bring about a meritocracy rather than encourage local powers to tip the scale in favour of the more affluent, connected and powerful families.
According to this system, the student is placed according to the student's college preference and his relative rank in the merit list. On the basis of the exams, the university allocates seats to students through a centralised counselling process. While this sounds ideal, how it will actually play out remains to be seen.
Literacy
In a country where the literacy rate is 74.04 per cent according to a 2011 survey, not everyone can afford to send their child to college, and it is no surprise that more than 60 per cent are first-generation students, whose parents have never attended college.
Hence it is significant that these numbers are rising, this despite the fact that the cut-off percentage is also through the roof. Even students with 97.4 per cent, like Rishab Chaudhary, a government school topper in the commerce stream, have not got into a university of their choice.
Does this indicate the crème de la crème of universities like St Stephens, Lady Shree Ram College and SRCC are still off limits for a few?
Are we witnessing a neo-caste system that gives preference to those from elite public schools over government school graduates?
Pyramid
According to faculty members from these universities, it is an inverted pyramid with the number of seats remaining the same but the number of students securing the cut-off per cent increasing.
Naturally many students would have to look for admission in other universities - which is not necessarily a bad thing. The overcrowding of universities and the growing number of students each year applying to a university, locally and from out of town, is on the rise.
It is time to address this rising demand for good quality universities before there is a virtual explosion.
One of the positive steps taken is the increasing number of state universities in the green belt and the hilly areas of the country.
This may take the pressure off from the cities, given the sylvan environment of these locales. Another step in the right direction is the simplification of admissions.
While earlier students were required to physically be present to fill in OMR forms at the university before the cut-offs were announced, forms and documents may now be submitted online.
This allows the student to apply to a greater number of universities without the pressure of being physically present.
A student can also apply to any college where they meet the cut-off. For the rest there is always prayer. And of course, keep your fingers crossed.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)