DU's academic council approves common entrance test: here's why it is being opposed

The Delhi University's academic council on Friday approved the holding of entrance test for admissions from next year, according to sources.

The academic council meeting was held on Friday and despite 17 of the 26 elected members dissenting against it, the proposal to hold a common entrance test was passed. The council includes members other than those who are elected.

The matter will now come up for discussion in the Executive Council meeting scheduled for December 17.

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"Common Entrance Test (CET) for undergraduate admissions will lead to mushrooming of coaching institutes that will be particularly bad for socially and economically disadvantaged students and girl students," said Mithuraaj Dhusiya, a member of the council.

Echoing similar views, Alok Pandey, a council member, said just like engineering and medical entrance exams, students will take coaching to prepare for DU, thereby not focusing on their school studies.

A nine-member panel constituted by DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh had recommended that the varsity should hold entrance examinations through a Common Entrance Test to ensure substantial objectivity in the process of admission, amid a controversy erupting over the high number of cent per cent scorers from the Kerala Board getting admission to the varsity.

The committee formed under the chairmanship of Dean (examinations) D S Rawat was supposed to examine the reasons for over and under admissions to undergraduate courses, study the board-wise distribution of admissions in all undergraduate courses, suggest alternate strategies for the optimal admissions in undergraduate courses, and examine the OBC admissions with reference to the ‘non-creamy layer' status.

"The Committee is of the considered view that admissions may be carried out through a Common Entrance Test (CET),” said the committee in its report.

“It may be conducted through an appropriate mode by the University through a well-devised internal arrangement or through any external agency depending upon prevailing operational feasibility and administrative convenience at that time followed by declaration of list of eligible candidates for admissions under various course of study," it said.

According to sources, the modalities for holding entrance exam will be worked out after its approval in the Executive Council meeting. The council also discussed starting PhD and Masters in nanomedicine and BTech programmes from 2022-23.

Fifteen members gave a dissent note against them.

"The MoE and UGC have systematically pushed public funded institutions to take loan from Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). We fear that proposals like NMI and B.Tech courses will become an excuse to push DU towards HEFA,” said Abha Dev Habib, former Executive Council member.

“While in principle we welcome starting of new courses, we need to ensure that these come as viable sustained expansions. Starting of BTech courses from 2022-23 without grants, hiring of faculty and settings of lab is treating students as guinea pigs. We have seen enough of these half-baked reforms," Habib added.