Vinayak Garg :

Delhi University Admission Process

Oct 2009 | When you want to change any system, I feel it is best that one should first formulate the most desirable system, without any constraints and subsequently adapt it based on current constraints. Doing so enables us to not only make a better system right now, but also chart out a longer vision towards which one would like to go.

In this post I would discuss the centralized admission process adopted by Delhi University a few years back through introduction of centralized forms.

Despite the fact that so much amount of money has been spent for the system it still remain predominantly a make-shift arrangement and much below an expected standard from a central university.

Firstly, let me introduce this process to you:

DU admission system 1

Current admission process in DU

The student who wants to apply to any college of the Delhi University can buy a ‘central admission form’ from university counter and submit it back there. The form is read through OMR and enables students to apply simultaneously to multiple courses and colleges. After the deadline of form submission, the university prepares college wise datasheets containing the details of all the students who have expressed interest in the college. The information is passed onto respective colleges through CDs and floppies.

Simultaneously, colleges continue to sell and collect their own forms.

The whole process has inherent drawbacks. Instead of reducing commotion and chaos in the admission process, the ‘central admission form’ of university is actually aiding to increase the same. Through centralized form, many students apply to courses which they don’t even intend to attend, thus pushing the cut offs upwards for most of the colleges. Also, many students apply to the same college through both central and college form, again swelling the cut offs. With cutoffs going high, students hold onto whatever they can get in first list, and wait to make a switch in the second list. This list affects the admission estimates drastically, and this snowballing effect is seen the following cut off lists too!!

So what has this form centralized? Should colleges be allowed to sell their own admission forms? And if the admission process is purely based on marks, then why university doesn’t brings out admission list for each college?

DU admission system

Better admission process proposed for DU

What I propose is a simple, single point admission process.

  1. Having a single unified form across university: This form should be available at all colleges and university offices.
  2. Online form: Have facility to fill the form online, and reduce commotion and chaos
  3. The form should require students to submit a preference order, across all the courses and colleges.( Similar process is followed in engineering admission process, even by AIEEE which has around 1000 affiliated institutes!)
  4. Using this preference order, and the marks the university can simply bring our an admission list. No further lists are necessary.
  5. Colleges should concentrate on marketing themselves to students through seminars and information sessions.

Besides improving the system, this process would also teach students to take decisions. Filling up the preference order, the students would get a chance to plan out their career and take control of their lives!


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Its time to RUN !!

2010 | Its that time of the year when the Delhites get off their vehicles and join together to run across the streets of Delhi, Delhi Half Marathon is back!! This blog post is on my observations during the last run.

This post is adapted from an earlier entry of mine that I had written for ‘Our World’ (an internal magazine of PwC).

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It’s a 21 km race, probably would take me more than 25,000 steps to complete, but still each step is as important as any other. I realized what people mean when they say each small step brings you closer to the finish line. And that’s exactly what I tried to do, jog and enjoy the atmosphere around. I had driven on these roads numerous times, but never before had I observed the things that seemed to have suddenly sprouted up that day. I actually realized the small slopes and took no distance for granted. No longer was I measuring distances in terms of red lights I would have to pass, but in the terms of number of water stations I would encounter.

As I began, I started on a wrong foot, literally, and resulted in an acute abdomen pain after 3 km. It was then, I had to stop jogging and start walking, and question now was not about the timing but focus shifted to completing the race itself. I decided to walk one km and then start afresh. People passed by me as I walked, but I had no choice but to cheer for them. I saw some people just zipping past, making it seem like a 100 meter race rather than a marathon, getting the fame while they can. What were disturbing were not the people who zipped past, but seeing fellow runner disturbing their own rhythm just to compete.

Marathon for a common runner was not about relative ranking. Everyone was challenging himself, trying to get past his own limits and that was different for each one. It was a great place to be, where despite being in the same race, it was still all about you, a thing very desirable in real life but is still so elusive. As I continued to jog, concentrating on each small step and on my body, I passed many people who had earlier left me behind. It was then that I really realized the message of the story of the tortoise and the hare. It is not about who can get ahead first, neither is it about the one who remains unhurt. But it is about the person who continues to perform, about the person who learns from mistakes and gets up even after the pain.

Life doesn’t have the ultimate moments. No success or failure can be greater than self-confidence and the ability to continue to perform under all kinds of circumstances. It is easy to ride high on a particular success or to get overawed seeing others perform well.

As I finished the race, I was not happy because I had finished before many of the people, and neither was I sad because many finished before me. I was happy because I finished.


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