New Delhi: The substantial increase in the number of admissions this year after the first cut-off list is mainly because the entire process is taking place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has saved students the trouble of physically visiting the colleges, Delhi University officials have said.
Last year, the varsity had seen nearly 24,000 admissions after the first cut-off list but this year, the number of admissions after the first cut-off list has reached over 29,000, the highest till date.
Colleges say they have seen a substantial increase in admissions in 2020.
Shobha Bagai, Dean (Admissions), Delhi University, said the number of admissions has increased in colleges.
“Somebody sitting in Vishakhpatnam or somebody sitting in Manipur can apply online without having to phsyically visit colleges. Earlier, they would have to visit colleges for admissions but now they can apply sititing at their homes. This has led to a tremendous increase in the number of applicants,” she said.
Manoj Sinha, principal of Arybhatta College, said till last year, the college would have 100 or even less admissions after the first cut-off but this year they have admitted 180 students. This meant that the cut-offs have been realistic and students have applied to colleges under them, he said.
Dr Rajesh Giri, principal of Rajdhani College, said there has been an incerase in the number of students scoring abover 90 per cent and 95 per cent, and that is reflected in the high number of admissions this year. The college has had 450 admissions till now.
Principals said many coveted courses like Politcial Science (Honours), History (Honours), and popular combinations under the BA programme might be closed at many premiere colleges in the second cut-off which will be released on Saturday.
Manoj Khanna, principal of Ramjas College, said this year, they have had one-and-a-half times more the admissions than last year.
Khanna said the college has approved 1,054 admissions for nearly 2,000 seats available while 700 aspirants have paid the fees.
Khanna said they have over-admitted students in BA (Honours) Political Science, as well as in many combinations of BA programme for unreserved and even in reserved categories and these might not open for second list.
In Political Science (Honours), the college has admitted 81 students against 18 seats, he said.
This year, the admissions are happening online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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While online admissions are a great way to account for the pandemic, once must also acknowledge that social inequalities are reproduced in the digital sphere. As more things move over to the digital, we must be wary of who we are excluding. Universities run by the state have a duty to offer equal opportunity to every citizen of the nation, regardless of the privileges they might have or not have.