Why DU admissions are getting harder for boys

The release of the second and third list of DU cut offs has been the equivalent of clearing of stormy skies for many college applicants. Countless students rushed to finally secure their seats, while others were able to shift to higher ranked colleges or secure a course of choice. Yet, there are still some unlucky ones who’ve taken admission into courses, not necessarily of their choosing, just to block seats.

Fortunately, I turned out to be amongst the luckier lot. An opportunity to shift to Kamla Nehru college opened up with the sudden drop of their cut off to 93.5 per cent (BA English Honours). I knew that a procedure of withdrawal of original certificates awaited me. But what I wasn’t aware of was that it was going to be a painful two-hour long process. In fact, mid way, out of frustration, I even wondered if I should give up the transfer all together.

I did make it through the process, with gritted teeth and the constant swearing in my head keeping me company. I know that I’ve mentioned this earlier, but nonetheless, all the admission related procedures need to be automated. The withdrawal system had majorly eaten into my day. Therefore, despite their smooth functioning, the admission exercise in Kamla Nehru could only be completed the day after.

I still don’t have as many complaints as compared to the male candidates applying to DU this year.

An initiative has been taken to give female candidates a one to three per cent relaxation in many co-ed DU colleges. In order to bring a historically underprivileged gender at par with another, one needs to initially provide an additional impetus. This has been done with the establishment of many all-girls colleges like Kamla Nehru, Gargi and some others.

However, the relaxation has led to the filling up of a large number of seats in the co-ed colleges by girls. This policy, in some cases, is proving to be a major handicap for male candidates. Based on DU figures, a total of 1,69,731 male applicants have registered as compared to a total of 1,22,020 female applicants.

These figures and the large number of all-girls colleges clearly show that male applicants at DU face a distinct disadvantage. While women empowerment is critical, reverse discrimination is not the solution. One way to remedy this is to set up more colleges which can cater to a larger number of applicants for UG courses, regardless of gender, while assuring quality education.

The admission process seems to be moving to its culmination. Let’s hope that the remaining days bring good news for those applicants still awaiting admission into DU colleges.