Enter Kamala Nagar Market and the word that registers and lingers on your temptation glands is 'SALE'. For those who haven't shopped to their heart's content, the end of season sale can very well serve as the beginning of college sale. Looking for ethnic wear? Head to Dhara: 20, UB Jawahar Nagar, Kamla Nagar Market.
Those of you who are looking for street wear need to be street smart too. Bargaining is the only way out and digging through the heaps of clothing is inevitable if you're at Bungalow road. And at Bungalow Road you'll be, if you shop for the entire season in one go. But time and patience is inversely proportional to the cash you shell out.
Wish to make your own style statement? The Tibetan Refugee Camp at Majnu ka Tila is yet to be discovered to its fullest potential. But don't forget to indulge in the momo-mania at Tee-Dees, where assortments of dumplings come with an assortment of names.
Momos, priced at Rs. 30 for a full-plate of chicken and Rs. 20 for vegetable have hooked onto DU's taste-buds. Ready to eat and steamed (steaming hot should be more like it), they serve those in hurry and the health-conscious respectively.
For those who worry their figure too much, there are not only sprouts but sprout laddoos too on offer at Rs. 10 at the Arts Faculty Canteen. You can get some fresh fruit juice and vegetable juice there too.
For the occasional binge go to Chacha ke Chhole Bhature, where the aloo bhaturas are a rage. It continues to attract North Campus alumni even today. Kashyap's bread pakode, chauffeured by Kashyap himself on his push-cart near Hansraj College (Rs. 10 per plate) are sold-out before you can get enough of the hot snack smothered with chaat-masala. Banta and chuski is available at the gol-chakkar when the spicy treat gets the better of you.
Moving down south, DCAC and JMC flock to Satya Niketan Market to share their food with Sri Venkateswara College. Mithas, as the Anand Lok Market Square is popularly known for the restaurant it houses by the same name is a common favourite of Gargi, Kamala Nehru and Institute of Home Economics. At Gate No. 3 of Siri Fort Auditorium, 2 'o' clock onwards, you can witness the magic of chatpati chaat at the kiosk there. SDA Market opposite IIT Delhi Main Gate is a hang-out for hookah-lovers, Frankie-connoisseurs and Subway bingers alike. You can get 2 pizzas at Rs. 100 from the Pizza Square outlet there.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Orientation Programme? What Orientation Programme?
A day before Delhi University officially re-opened, various North Campus colleges, namely Hindu College, St. Stephen's College, Sri Ram College of Commerce and Hansraj College scheduled their orientation for freshers. This year, most colleges made an attempt to keep the programme short and sweet, and at most places the 'formality' was over within an hour and a half, unlike last year's record five hours. "We'd expected speeches and we were delivered speeches", laughs Anupama Labar, English Honours 1st year at Hansraj College. "It could have been more entertaining", she complained, hinting at a possible inclusion of more presentations from the various societies active in the college.
Contradicting popular opinion, most freshers felt the orientation would have been an 'orientation' in the true sense if seniors were around since they are expected to give a better picture of what college really is about. Many were actually looking forward to breaking the ice through the "friendly interaction". Tirthankar Bose, 1st year, Maths Honours, clarified that this doesn't imply walking into the lion's den. His class-mate, Indrajit Banerjee shares, "We wanted to check out the college canteen but weren't sure of who might pounce onto us there".
Since parents too were invited for the orientation, a lot of children came with their entire family tagging along. Debanjum Singh, 1st year Physics Honours, Hansraj College, couldn't enter the auditorium as kins of fellow students occupied space intended to seat other students. The venue was brimming over, with people sitting on the floor and on window-sills. "The memory that I'm taking back of my first day in college is standing outside the auditorium listening to disembodied speeches and besura music", he commented. Priyanka Dey, 1st year, History Honours at Hindu doesn't agree with the claim that the idea of parents accompanying their wards is silly. "Parents are obviously interested in their children's welfare, where they are going, what they are upto. Beyond this, in any case, they are letting us be, which is difficult for both parent and child". Hindu College managed the crowd very well in terms of seating but at refreshment counters things went out of hand with students struggling to keep their food from tipping.
Contradicting popular opinion, most freshers felt the orientation would have been an 'orientation' in the true sense if seniors were around since they are expected to give a better picture of what college really is about. Many were actually looking forward to breaking the ice through the "friendly interaction". Tirthankar Bose, 1st year, Maths Honours, clarified that this doesn't imply walking into the lion's den. His class-mate, Indrajit Banerjee shares, "We wanted to check out the college canteen but weren't sure of who might pounce onto us there".
Since parents too were invited for the orientation, a lot of children came with their entire family tagging along. Debanjum Singh, 1st year Physics Honours, Hansraj College, couldn't enter the auditorium as kins of fellow students occupied space intended to seat other students. The venue was brimming over, with people sitting on the floor and on window-sills. "The memory that I'm taking back of my first day in college is standing outside the auditorium listening to disembodied speeches and besura music", he commented. Priyanka Dey, 1st year, History Honours at Hindu doesn't agree with the claim that the idea of parents accompanying their wards is silly. "Parents are obviously interested in their children's welfare, where they are going, what they are upto. Beyond this, in any case, they are letting us be, which is difficult for both parent and child". Hindu College managed the crowd very well in terms of seating but at refreshment counters things went out of hand with students struggling to keep their food from tipping.
Evening College tag a stigma
11 Evening Colleges were sanctioned by the UGC to the Delhi University in the 1970's. These colleges basically catered to students who wished to pursue further studies but were simultaneously working in the morning. Now most of these colleges strictly disallow students who are working and classes begin by two 'o' clock, hence the prefix 'evening' continues to be an issue for debate. As Principal of Dyal Singh Evening, Deepak Malhotra puts it, "The term 'evening' College is a misnomer. 'Second-shift' or even 'Afternoon' college is a better alternative."
Evening colleges offer the advantage of doing add-on courses, vocational courses and/or language courses in the morning and attending classes later in the day, besides the assurance that you will be up in time to attend the first class. Colleges like Dyal Singh Evening and Zakir Husain Evening are doing considerably better than their morning counter-parts in terms of their score in university exams and excellence in ECAs. As far as Dyal Singh Evening is concerned, the Evening College came before the morning one. But despite their success students continue to opt for Morning colleges over them.
Sushant Sharma, Secretary of PRO Wing of Art and Culture Association of Dyal Singh Evening provided insight into the situation. "When we counsel freshers to take admission into the Evening College rather than the Morning one, they express their apprehension. For most, it is still their last resort since they couldn't clear the comparatively higher cut-offs at the Morning colleges. When our theatre team has gone to perform at various fests, we've been greeted with snide comments. At various occasions we've felt discriminated against by the jury too in terms of the prizes going to less deserving teams thanks to the Evening College tag." Re-structuring the B.A. Pass course and calling it B.A. Programme worked wonders for its acceptance amongst students. Who knows, renaming 'Evening' College might just remove the stigma attached to it!
Dr. Satender Kumar, Principal Satyawati Evening lists the problems faced by an Evening College. "For girl students, Evening Colleges aren't their first choice due to the timings. Teachers have to stay back till even later than the students and this obviously breeds discontent amongst the staff. Other than that, Morning College students have to vacate the college premises for the Evening College by 4. Students involved in extra-curricular activities and sports wish to use the auditorium/common rooms and grounds, respectively, for practices. These stay-backs tend to spill over the prescribed time which remains a bone of contention between the two unions."
Before the Co-ordination Committee came into place, there were other issues too, such as fights for the better courses, the Morning College principal governing both the colleges and the Evening College Principal acting as a subordinate, etc. which are now more or less resolved. The Morning and Evening College now function as distinct entities with separate administration, separate offices, separate staff, separate libraries and in some cases with separate auditoriums in the same building. Suggestions such as the Morning classes being started early and additional floors being added to the building have regularly featured in discussions.
After Khalsa's Evening College moved in with the Morning College as Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, the number of Evening colleges stands stationary at 10. Mail Today asked the principals of infra-structurally superior colleges why a second-shift isn't run at their institutions. To that Hansraj College's principal said, "Our College offers science courses which means students need to use labs till much after classes get over. For an afternoon shift, classes have to start by 2 which wouldn't be possible. The professors who teach in the morning won't teach in the evening which would mean new appointments and compromised standards." Dr. Pratibha Jolly, Principal Miranda House quotes the quality over quantity maxim. "Education isn't just about class-room teaching. We offer holistic education to our girls and we're barely keeping our head above the water with the number of activities we've introduced."
Evening colleges offer the advantage of doing add-on courses, vocational courses and/or language courses in the morning and attending classes later in the day, besides the assurance that you will be up in time to attend the first class. Colleges like Dyal Singh Evening and Zakir Husain Evening are doing considerably better than their morning counter-parts in terms of their score in university exams and excellence in ECAs. As far as Dyal Singh Evening is concerned, the Evening College came before the morning one. But despite their success students continue to opt for Morning colleges over them.
Sushant Sharma, Secretary of PRO Wing of Art and Culture Association of Dyal Singh Evening provided insight into the situation. "When we counsel freshers to take admission into the Evening College rather than the Morning one, they express their apprehension. For most, it is still their last resort since they couldn't clear the comparatively higher cut-offs at the Morning colleges. When our theatre team has gone to perform at various fests, we've been greeted with snide comments. At various occasions we've felt discriminated against by the jury too in terms of the prizes going to less deserving teams thanks to the Evening College tag." Re-structuring the B.A. Pass course and calling it B.A. Programme worked wonders for its acceptance amongst students. Who knows, renaming 'Evening' College might just remove the stigma attached to it!
Dr. Satender Kumar, Principal Satyawati Evening lists the problems faced by an Evening College. "For girl students, Evening Colleges aren't their first choice due to the timings. Teachers have to stay back till even later than the students and this obviously breeds discontent amongst the staff. Other than that, Morning College students have to vacate the college premises for the Evening College by 4. Students involved in extra-curricular activities and sports wish to use the auditorium/common rooms and grounds, respectively, for practices. These stay-backs tend to spill over the prescribed time which remains a bone of contention between the two unions."
Before the Co-ordination Committee came into place, there were other issues too, such as fights for the better courses, the Morning College principal governing both the colleges and the Evening College Principal acting as a subordinate, etc. which are now more or less resolved. The Morning and Evening College now function as distinct entities with separate administration, separate offices, separate staff, separate libraries and in some cases with separate auditoriums in the same building. Suggestions such as the Morning classes being started early and additional floors being added to the building have regularly featured in discussions.
After Khalsa's Evening College moved in with the Morning College as Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, the number of Evening colleges stands stationary at 10. Mail Today asked the principals of infra-structurally superior colleges why a second-shift isn't run at their institutions. To that Hansraj College's principal said, "Our College offers science courses which means students need to use labs till much after classes get over. For an afternoon shift, classes have to start by 2 which wouldn't be possible. The professors who teach in the morning won't teach in the evening which would mean new appointments and compromised standards." Dr. Pratibha Jolly, Principal Miranda House quotes the quality over quantity maxim. "Education isn't just about class-room teaching. We offer holistic education to our girls and we're barely keeping our head above the water with the number of activities we've introduced."
The Unpublished Article
Shyam's father is a rickshaw puller while Shyam works at a chai-stall as his contribution to the household income. Shyam wants to become a Chartered Accountant one day and as soon as he's relieved from his day's duties, he gives his all to his books by the street-light. Shyam scraped to pass out from the neighbourhood central school where, occasionally, but teachers do find time to teach. His dream of making it to B.Com at DU shattered; he has lost all motivation to pursue further education. Shyam's father had to shell out most of his monthly income to pay for Shyam's studies in a government school. The very idea of a private university is unthinkable when a private school was out of question.
The Trehans sent their only boy to the best public school in the city, provided him with personal tutors for every subject. The boy, despite all the investment, sees no incentive to study, after all 'he will have to look after the family business in the end', and scored badly. When the possibility of paying his way into DU was ruled out, the Trehans doled out whatever was required to enrol him into a private university. There is nothing such as a free lunch.
DU offers scholarship to 'talented' students in terms of full fee concession or part fee concession at both the college and university level to those who can't support their studies themselves. An application plus documentary proof of income for those who have an income below 5,000 per month can get one admitted 'on the basis of merit on scholarship' to IP University. But the question remains, what about those who couldn't secure sound education at the school-level due to their economic inferiority?
Deputy Dean of Student's Welfare DU, Dr. Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, answers, "Evening colleges have reduced cut-offs and allow the student to work in the morning hours too. Besides that the non-collegiate women Education Board is admitting students at 14 centres. Students can opt for vocational courses and still manage to do well in life." He suggests short-term diploma courses, correspondence courses and School of Open Learning, for which just passing one's 12th boards is enough, as alternative options. But the compromise is evident and so is the bar on dreaming big.
Amity University has tied up with various banks which are based on the campus itself and give out education loans to students, which they themselves repay once they get a job. Since Amity assures a 100% placement, the guarantee is taken by the institution while the onus isn't on the parents. Anshum Pant, pursuing his B.Tech. from Amity University adds caution, "How well you get placed depends on your score on the aptitude test besides the degree isn't of as much value as that of a government university's."
Sumedha Upadhyay from Amity Law School, Delhi (affiliated to IP University) strongly disagrees that Private Universities are actually alternatives to Government Universities; they still continue to be the last resort. "In today's time free and compulsory education for all children below 14 years isn't enough; it should be ensured at graduate level too if the unemployment problem really needs to be resolved."
The draw-back of Government Universities is their lack of infra-structure and assured placement which private universities offer. The major disadvantage of a private university is its high fee due to lack of subsidies given to government-aided institutions besides the threat of de-recognition. As Rashmi Atal, PR Officer puts it, "Public-private partnership is the bridge between the gap in the future and IP University is a successful example of that. But there is still a long way to go."
The Trehans sent their only boy to the best public school in the city, provided him with personal tutors for every subject. The boy, despite all the investment, sees no incentive to study, after all 'he will have to look after the family business in the end', and scored badly. When the possibility of paying his way into DU was ruled out, the Trehans doled out whatever was required to enrol him into a private university. There is nothing such as a free lunch.
DU offers scholarship to 'talented' students in terms of full fee concession or part fee concession at both the college and university level to those who can't support their studies themselves. An application plus documentary proof of income for those who have an income below 5,000 per month can get one admitted 'on the basis of merit on scholarship' to IP University. But the question remains, what about those who couldn't secure sound education at the school-level due to their economic inferiority?
Deputy Dean of Student's Welfare DU, Dr. Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, answers, "Evening colleges have reduced cut-offs and allow the student to work in the morning hours too. Besides that the non-collegiate women Education Board is admitting students at 14 centres. Students can opt for vocational courses and still manage to do well in life." He suggests short-term diploma courses, correspondence courses and School of Open Learning, for which just passing one's 12th boards is enough, as alternative options. But the compromise is evident and so is the bar on dreaming big.
Amity University has tied up with various banks which are based on the campus itself and give out education loans to students, which they themselves repay once they get a job. Since Amity assures a 100% placement, the guarantee is taken by the institution while the onus isn't on the parents. Anshum Pant, pursuing his B.Tech. from Amity University adds caution, "How well you get placed depends on your score on the aptitude test besides the degree isn't of as much value as that of a government university's."
Sumedha Upadhyay from Amity Law School, Delhi (affiliated to IP University) strongly disagrees that Private Universities are actually alternatives to Government Universities; they still continue to be the last resort. "In today's time free and compulsory education for all children below 14 years isn't enough; it should be ensured at graduate level too if the unemployment problem really needs to be resolved."
The draw-back of Government Universities is their lack of infra-structure and assured placement which private universities offer. The major disadvantage of a private university is its high fee due to lack of subsidies given to government-aided institutions besides the threat of de-recognition. As Rashmi Atal, PR Officer puts it, "Public-private partnership is the bridge between the gap in the future and IP University is a successful example of that. But there is still a long way to go."
Queue Chats
The situation was chaotic at most DU colleges the day admissions opened. Counters for roll numbers, document verification, fee submission, etc. were all in different corners of the respective college campus making the lengthy process a further complicated one. "Taking admission in a DU college is an equivalent of a three hour maze of going from pillar to post" said a hassled Soumya Chadha from Summerfields School. Ankita Bhardwaj, Vice President, Student Union, Kamala Nehru College agreed that "It would definitely have been more convenient if all the counters were on a single floor."
"Timings should be extended", was a common demand. The bank counter, which was supposed to be open between 10 and 1 didn't open as per timing at many places. Even though the forms weren't made available after 1, the information wasn't clearly conveyed at the college gates which, for many, led to a lot of wastage of time besides their adding to the already teeming crowd. "Not enough volunteers at help-desks" and "under-staffed" counters were other complaints one couldn't miss while standing in various queues.
There was a lot of confusion regarding the cut-offs for the innumerable categories besides the subjectivity of subjects considered as vocational. Aspirants also faced trouble due to the differing demands at different colleges in terms of list of required documents for admission. Not being conversant with individual prospectuses, some students carried attested photocopies as specified by Jesus and Mary College instead of originals as required for admission at KNC. Provisional certificate, letter of recommendation by Principal of last school attended (for students applying through ECA category at Lady Sri Ram College), Certificate saying the level till which Hindi has been studied in school were cause for difficulty compelling many to repeat trips.
Parents accompanying students couldn't figure how to cut time. Except for the guardian's signature, most of the formalities are required to be done by the student and hence parents weren't allowed beyond a certain barrier. Thus every fifth minute volunteers had to deal with enquiries from worried parents about their children's whereabouts. Dipali Patel, applying to History Honours at KNC says, "Doing everything on my own was new to me, but I enjoy the independence."
"Timings should be extended", was a common demand. The bank counter, which was supposed to be open between 10 and 1 didn't open as per timing at many places. Even though the forms weren't made available after 1, the information wasn't clearly conveyed at the college gates which, for many, led to a lot of wastage of time besides their adding to the already teeming crowd. "Not enough volunteers at help-desks" and "under-staffed" counters were other complaints one couldn't miss while standing in various queues.
There was a lot of confusion regarding the cut-offs for the innumerable categories besides the subjectivity of subjects considered as vocational. Aspirants also faced trouble due to the differing demands at different colleges in terms of list of required documents for admission. Not being conversant with individual prospectuses, some students carried attested photocopies as specified by Jesus and Mary College instead of originals as required for admission at KNC. Provisional certificate, letter of recommendation by Principal of last school attended (for students applying through ECA category at Lady Sri Ram College), Certificate saying the level till which Hindi has been studied in school were cause for difficulty compelling many to repeat trips.
Parents accompanying students couldn't figure how to cut time. Except for the guardian's signature, most of the formalities are required to be done by the student and hence parents weren't allowed beyond a certain barrier. Thus every fifth minute volunteers had to deal with enquiries from worried parents about their children's whereabouts. Dipali Patel, applying to History Honours at KNC says, "Doing everything on my own was new to me, but I enjoy the independence."
26th June THE D-Day
26th of June remains the dreaded day, beating in anxiety levels the day the Board result is out, hands down. Especially since this year most news papers didn't feature the exhaustive first cut-off list, it was back to campus-hopping for checking individual college's cut-offs. A lot of students trotted down and stood waiting for hours on end, under the impression that the first cut-off will feature a list of their names, if they have cracked the course in that particular college. Another extension of the illusion was that students applying through individual forms to colleges will definitely see a name-based cut-off list which isn't so either. The colleges do not have the sanction to differentiate between people who have applied through individual forms against those who applied through the common pre-admission forms.
'Crazy', 'Unreasonable', 'Murderous' were some of the extreme adjectives used to define the first cut-off list this year by those, very obviously, discontented with the demanded percentage. Lady Shri Ram's cut-off list was received with shock universally. English, the subject as well as the course made for many a miserable day. Amongst the few happy faces were those of students who had managed to crack the Journalism entrance, which requires a very reasonable minimum eligibility as criteria to sit for the exam; despite the lesser intake of students, as compared to last year. Those who hadn't made it through the entrance failed to comprehend why. "The entrances were so simple and went well too but I still haven't made it to any of the colleges offering the course" says a disappointed Nikita Dhingra.
Students were anyway suggested by volunteers at help-desks to visit the colleges they seek admission in, to check up on the riders such as the minimum marks required in the subject concurrent to the course, English, math. Colleges also differ on the courses considered as vocational subjects for which 4% is deducted from the Best Four aggregate. Ridhima Bhatnagar of Tagore International felt cheated by Kamala Nehru's decision to chart Entrepreneurship as a vocational course which is compulsory for all students who opt for Humanities as a stream at Tagore. For a lot of the students who had given their 12th boards in these subjects, the negative weightage was still bearable as compared to including their fifth subject. Worst-hit were those who had more than one of these Vocational Subjects.
B.A. Programme and Geography besides Socio received an overwhelming response from students while B.Com (Pass) remained a reconciliation for a lot of those who had initially aspired for B.Com. (H). As far as the response from the OBC category was concerned, as a volunteer at the Gargi help-desk informs, "Not many have woken up to the fact that for verification of their belonging to the category, OBC's need to carry at the time of admission, a certificate of proof. We've received a lot of forms without attested photocopies, which would obviously mean that they can't receive the advantage sanctioned to them for belonging to Other Backward Classes."
'Crazy', 'Unreasonable', 'Murderous' were some of the extreme adjectives used to define the first cut-off list this year by those, very obviously, discontented with the demanded percentage. Lady Shri Ram's cut-off list was received with shock universally. English, the subject as well as the course made for many a miserable day. Amongst the few happy faces were those of students who had managed to crack the Journalism entrance, which requires a very reasonable minimum eligibility as criteria to sit for the exam; despite the lesser intake of students, as compared to last year. Those who hadn't made it through the entrance failed to comprehend why. "The entrances were so simple and went well too but I still haven't made it to any of the colleges offering the course" says a disappointed Nikita Dhingra.
Students were anyway suggested by volunteers at help-desks to visit the colleges they seek admission in, to check up on the riders such as the minimum marks required in the subject concurrent to the course, English, math. Colleges also differ on the courses considered as vocational subjects for which 4% is deducted from the Best Four aggregate. Ridhima Bhatnagar of Tagore International felt cheated by Kamala Nehru's decision to chart Entrepreneurship as a vocational course which is compulsory for all students who opt for Humanities as a stream at Tagore. For a lot of the students who had given their 12th boards in these subjects, the negative weightage was still bearable as compared to including their fifth subject. Worst-hit were those who had more than one of these Vocational Subjects.
B.A. Programme and Geography besides Socio received an overwhelming response from students while B.Com (Pass) remained a reconciliation for a lot of those who had initially aspired for B.Com. (H). As far as the response from the OBC category was concerned, as a volunteer at the Gargi help-desk informs, "Not many have woken up to the fact that for verification of their belonging to the category, OBC's need to carry at the time of admission, a certificate of proof. We've received a lot of forms without attested photocopies, which would obviously mean that they can't receive the advantage sanctioned to them for belonging to Other Backward Classes."
English, English everywhere... Not a mark to spare!
2008 will go down in the history of DU admissions as the blunder year for experimenting with the be all and end all of subjects - English. The criteria for calculating Best Four, on the basis of which one compares one's aggregate to the various cut-offs, is one language (which is taken to be English in most cases) plus three electives and as we all know, the scores in English are, universally, the most erratic, whichever be the board. Can't do with; can't do without! English then becomes a horror for most public school and private school students, especially those which offer Functional or even Core English to their students. Year after year, the threats for negative weightage for these two have come and gone, and finally this year DU authorities have decided to reward Elective English with positive weightage instead. Since the school unanimously decides which one to choose from amongst these three options for all students, the children feel unfairly penalised for something they are bequeathed with.
Anshu Khanna, Anshika Khanna's mother is extremely upset. "My daughter wishes to apply to Sociology Honours and has scored 96 in Socio which awards her a 3% relaxation at most places. Her best four is more than 10% above the cut-off at Kamala Nehru but the rider on English debars her from taking admission since she has scored a 55 while she needs a minimum of 70 in the wretched subject." Junior Khanna asks, "What does my score in a literature-based paper have to do with my doing sociology?" The Khannas are genuinely depressed since Anshika's best five is more than her best four and if she literally calculates her 'BEST' Four i.e. minus English, her aggregate shoots up by another 7%. She has cleared the first list for History in Jesus and Mary College and is wait-listed for Political Science. Anshika has no option but to surf these alternatives since her preferred course is not available to her in any of the reputed colleges.
Another bone of contention has been the disposal of English entrance exams. The entrance exam for B.A. Honours in English had previously served the dual purpose of being a safety valve for those who are yet undecided on which career path to take and have nowhere to go besides acting as a filter for recruiting the truly deserving. Arushi Sharma, President of Students Union at Gargi contemplates, "Another one of the University's annual experiments I guess. The ever impending decision to have a common entrance exam for all colleges offering English (Hons.) has never gone down well with individual colleges since that would mean a hierarchical segregation on the basis of ranks. Who decides who gets the top scorers?"
But with the limited time between the date DU admissions start and the date the cut-offs come out, there is bound to be a clash in dates of the entrances, especially since there are entrances for other subjects too. Generally students who appear for journalism entrances also sit for English and vice-versa. "But this isn't the solution", says Kanupriya who has just passed out of DPS RK Puram. "At least earlier we had a choice between two or three entrances which, no doubt, on the basis of merit, but gave us a chance as contenders. Now there is no hope whatsoever!" Stephen's cut-off for Commerce students was set at 98%. "Why would someone who gets a 98%, take up English in the first place, I completely fail to understand!" vents Aditi, Kanupriya's class-mate.
Anshu Khanna, Anshika Khanna's mother is extremely upset. "My daughter wishes to apply to Sociology Honours and has scored 96 in Socio which awards her a 3% relaxation at most places. Her best four is more than 10% above the cut-off at Kamala Nehru but the rider on English debars her from taking admission since she has scored a 55 while she needs a minimum of 70 in the wretched subject." Junior Khanna asks, "What does my score in a literature-based paper have to do with my doing sociology?" The Khannas are genuinely depressed since Anshika's best five is more than her best four and if she literally calculates her 'BEST' Four i.e. minus English, her aggregate shoots up by another 7%. She has cleared the first list for History in Jesus and Mary College and is wait-listed for Political Science. Anshika has no option but to surf these alternatives since her preferred course is not available to her in any of the reputed colleges.
Another bone of contention has been the disposal of English entrance exams. The entrance exam for B.A. Honours in English had previously served the dual purpose of being a safety valve for those who are yet undecided on which career path to take and have nowhere to go besides acting as a filter for recruiting the truly deserving. Arushi Sharma, President of Students Union at Gargi contemplates, "Another one of the University's annual experiments I guess. The ever impending decision to have a common entrance exam for all colleges offering English (Hons.) has never gone down well with individual colleges since that would mean a hierarchical segregation on the basis of ranks. Who decides who gets the top scorers?"
But with the limited time between the date DU admissions start and the date the cut-offs come out, there is bound to be a clash in dates of the entrances, especially since there are entrances for other subjects too. Generally students who appear for journalism entrances also sit for English and vice-versa. "But this isn't the solution", says Kanupriya who has just passed out of DPS RK Puram. "At least earlier we had a choice between two or three entrances which, no doubt, on the basis of merit, but gave us a chance as contenders. Now there is no hope whatsoever!" Stephen's cut-off for Commerce students was set at 98%. "Why would someone who gets a 98%, take up English in the first place, I completely fail to understand!" vents Aditi, Kanupriya's class-mate.
Accomodating the first-cut off list
As the first cut-off list comes out students are in a mad rush to find a place to put up at, now that they are more or less oriented into which college they'll make it. With the commercialisation of education to the extent that it exists currently, property dealers will themselves approach you but if someone is completely on their own and doesn't have any acquaintances in Delhi, things are going to be tougher to deal with. In North Campus the area looks more like a bazaar or mela; the situation is such that you will find ads, flyers, hoardings and boards everywhere, the walls are barely visible.
The prevalent rates for PG accommodations are at Rs. 3,500-4,000 for a two-seater, 25 square feet room and Rs. 7,000-8,000 for a 50 square feet room. On the 23rd of this month, there was a student demonstration at Batra talkies against the hike of prices by property dealers where they made 2 property dealers come upfront and say on the mic that they won't charge commission to students. A lot of these brokers mislead freshers into illegal establishments which haven't registered themselves. Commission might be charged by some on a daily basis, sometimes the process might take 15 days, at other times even a month and you can accordingly do the calculation.
Students are lead through a maze of small and dingy, over-priced, low-quality rooms. They are shown a different room and given a different one. A lot of them had to move two-three times in one month alone. Out of desperation, the student pays commission to more than one broker. Tenants and land-lords too do not co-operate. They insist on people who come through brokers so that they aren't liable to issues of verification later. 50% of the rent is charged as commission so the initial investment can amount up to Rs. 12,500 (Rs 5,000 for rent + Rs. 2,500 commission + Rs. 5,000 Security, which is non-refundable). If you want a tiffin facility the prices are hiked further but it is strongly advised against by those who have experienced the stale quality of food given by these service providers.
For girls, Gandhi Vihar, Nehru Vihar, Dhaka Timarpur, Parmanand areas are complete no-no's. Vijayanand, who puts up at Mukherjee Nagar, which is one of the better off areas in comparison, shares "My kitchen is separated from my room and it's outside the premises of the flat. My gas cylinder and kitchen equipment was recently stolen and when I asked my land-lord he completely shrugged it off". South Campus which is predominantly girls colleges should look up the list of the suggested and black-listed PG accommodations, which too will be out today, before starting the search. Lamba House in East of Kailas, E-227 in Amar Colony, GK N-Block, South Ex and National Parl are the places which have the maximum people renting out their flats to PGs.
The prevalent rates for PG accommodations are at Rs. 3,500-4,000 for a two-seater, 25 square feet room and Rs. 7,000-8,000 for a 50 square feet room. On the 23rd of this month, there was a student demonstration at Batra talkies against the hike of prices by property dealers where they made 2 property dealers come upfront and say on the mic that they won't charge commission to students. A lot of these brokers mislead freshers into illegal establishments which haven't registered themselves. Commission might be charged by some on a daily basis, sometimes the process might take 15 days, at other times even a month and you can accordingly do the calculation.
Students are lead through a maze of small and dingy, over-priced, low-quality rooms. They are shown a different room and given a different one. A lot of them had to move two-three times in one month alone. Out of desperation, the student pays commission to more than one broker. Tenants and land-lords too do not co-operate. They insist on people who come through brokers so that they aren't liable to issues of verification later. 50% of the rent is charged as commission so the initial investment can amount up to Rs. 12,500 (Rs 5,000 for rent + Rs. 2,500 commission + Rs. 5,000 Security, which is non-refundable). If you want a tiffin facility the prices are hiked further but it is strongly advised against by those who have experienced the stale quality of food given by these service providers.
For girls, Gandhi Vihar, Nehru Vihar, Dhaka Timarpur, Parmanand areas are complete no-no's. Vijayanand, who puts up at Mukherjee Nagar, which is one of the better off areas in comparison, shares "My kitchen is separated from my room and it's outside the premises of the flat. My gas cylinder and kitchen equipment was recently stolen and when I asked my land-lord he completely shrugged it off". South Campus which is predominantly girls colleges should look up the list of the suggested and black-listed PG accommodations, which too will be out today, before starting the search. Lamba House in East of Kailas, E-227 in Amar Colony, GK N-Block, South Ex and National Parl are the places which have the maximum people renting out their flats to PGs.
What's so special about the U-Special?
Ask a student from a South Campus or an Off-Campus college what the U-Special is, and you'll get an assortment of interesting responses. One said he thought it was probably the youth section of some newspaper; the other thought it was a segment on some radio show.
'U-Special' stands for University Special, the DTC buses, the life-line of DU, which basically ferry students from South Delhi to North Campus. The first bus starts at 7:30 in the morning and the last picks up students at 3:30 p.m. The service was introduced in 1960 and since 1965, is available at the nominal cost of Rs. 12.50 per month. One can get a U-Special bus card made for Rs. 75 for 5 months. The buses are the breath and blood of South Delhi students for this part of Delhi still remains disconnected from the metro. There are some buses that move from East to South for e.g. there's a bus which takes students from Faridabad and drops them off at Gargi.
Delhi Metro might have made things convenient for students of East and West Delhi but it has simultaneously removed them from, not just another routine but, a complete cultural aspect of college life. As Sakshi Bhardwaj, 3rd year student of economics (honours) from Hindu College, tells us, "I became very thick with a few students from my own college thanks to the U-Special. I wasn't even aware of the fact that they are from my college earlier. Besides that, I have a lot of friends from D-School, only because they travel by the same route I take." Deepshika from Hansraj who puts up at Chirag Delhi, is all praise for U-Specials, particularly the Mangloi one which has the reputation of "woh nahiin aayegi toh koi aur bhi nahiin aayegi". As far as the social circuiting is concerned, she comments "Everyone is extremely amiable and conversation flows with ease; it hardly matters if the students are your seniors. For that matter, as co-travellers I've discovered friends in a lot of students pursuing their education at the PG level." Students with their own vehicles abandon their bikes and cars and prefer the U-Special for both the convenience and companionship.
Udit Khurana, 2nd year, maths (honours) student at north campus, amongst others who put up in and around IIT, isn't too happy. Ask him about the congenial atmosphere and he says he hasn't been given the fair opportunity to experience it. "They never come on time and if I wish to make it to the 8:40 a.m. class on time, I'd rather wish on a star to be president." He feels he has to first reach to the metro to judge its effectiveness and just by introducing the metro the DTC transport facility doesn't improve.
If not for the U-Special some students might even need to change two buses to get to the nearest metro station from where they take a rickshaw, which costs more than double of what a U-Special charges, besides the extra 45 minutes you have to invest in being hassled. No doubt, DTC is comparatively comfortable to travel in than the Blue-line buses but even if one bus doesn't come on time the other bus is brimming over with people. The C.R. Park Special and Vasant Kunj special has been regularly irregular. The afternoon routes of DTC's U-Special service are discontinued for the three months around exam-time and there is no provision for students who participate in ECAs and need to stay-back beyond 3:30, the time when the last special leaves from the Patel Chest Stand.
'U-Special' stands for University Special, the DTC buses, the life-line of DU, which basically ferry students from South Delhi to North Campus. The first bus starts at 7:30 in the morning and the last picks up students at 3:30 p.m. The service was introduced in 1960 and since 1965, is available at the nominal cost of Rs. 12.50 per month. One can get a U-Special bus card made for Rs. 75 for 5 months. The buses are the breath and blood of South Delhi students for this part of Delhi still remains disconnected from the metro. There are some buses that move from East to South for e.g. there's a bus which takes students from Faridabad and drops them off at Gargi.
Delhi Metro might have made things convenient for students of East and West Delhi but it has simultaneously removed them from, not just another routine but, a complete cultural aspect of college life. As Sakshi Bhardwaj, 3rd year student of economics (honours) from Hindu College, tells us, "I became very thick with a few students from my own college thanks to the U-Special. I wasn't even aware of the fact that they are from my college earlier. Besides that, I have a lot of friends from D-School, only because they travel by the same route I take." Deepshika from Hansraj who puts up at Chirag Delhi, is all praise for U-Specials, particularly the Mangloi one which has the reputation of "woh nahiin aayegi toh koi aur bhi nahiin aayegi". As far as the social circuiting is concerned, she comments "Everyone is extremely amiable and conversation flows with ease; it hardly matters if the students are your seniors. For that matter, as co-travellers I've discovered friends in a lot of students pursuing their education at the PG level." Students with their own vehicles abandon their bikes and cars and prefer the U-Special for both the convenience and companionship.
Udit Khurana, 2nd year, maths (honours) student at north campus, amongst others who put up in and around IIT, isn't too happy. Ask him about the congenial atmosphere and he says he hasn't been given the fair opportunity to experience it. "They never come on time and if I wish to make it to the 8:40 a.m. class on time, I'd rather wish on a star to be president." He feels he has to first reach to the metro to judge its effectiveness and just by introducing the metro the DTC transport facility doesn't improve.
If not for the U-Special some students might even need to change two buses to get to the nearest metro station from where they take a rickshaw, which costs more than double of what a U-Special charges, besides the extra 45 minutes you have to invest in being hassled. No doubt, DTC is comparatively comfortable to travel in than the Blue-line buses but even if one bus doesn't come on time the other bus is brimming over with people. The C.R. Park Special and Vasant Kunj special has been regularly irregular. The afternoon routes of DTC's U-Special service are discontinued for the three months around exam-time and there is no provision for students who participate in ECAs and need to stay-back beyond 3:30, the time when the last special leaves from the Patel Chest Stand.
Ubad Khabad sadkein DU ki
You'll certainly miss the good old school days, the memories of parents and teachers contriving together so as to make you study, as you stand at the college gates, 'coz at Delhi University the tables are turned! You want to study, study anything anywhere just so that you can study further and there's nowhere to go, no one to take you in. To the deaf ears of DU Administration, wake-up call from ailing students...
Aatir Zaidi, pass-out from Cambridge school, has applied to journalism and psychology honours courses in colleges of Delhi University. Journalism is his first preference, but being unable to crack the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) journalism entrance he doesn't exactly feel on top of the world. "I've given Maharaja Agrasen College (MAC)'s journalism entrance too and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's my last hope of making it to journalism in DU since there is no other co-ed college other than DCAC and MAC that offers the course. Mass Comm. was never an option as Bachelors in Mass Media and Mass Communication is only offered by Indraprastha College which is a women's college." Unfortunately for Aatir the prospects are dim in psychology too, with only 3 co-ed colleges in DU boasting of a department in Psychology.
Outraged students continue to protest against OBC reservations, maybe still unaware of the fact that general category seats aren't affected. But that raises a very valid question as to how the management plans to incorporate the students from reserved categories in the existing infra-structure? Kalindi has a single loo, Vivekananda has a hostel with 50 seats; something is better than nothing they say. The Principal of a highly reputed college, who wishes to remain anonymous, says, "We have increased the seats as per SC guidelines for the OBC quota but we just one tank of drinking water, so will the new students remain thirsty?"
Regular classes still don't take place in all colleges, even though university has introduced rules to keep a check on teachers' attendance. A teacher from an off-campus college tells us that most of the staff of her college comes to college just to collect their pay. Students make the best of it, by taking up part-time or even full-time jobs to earn extra pocket money.
Despite university rules stating that all DU colleges must have their libraries functional on Saturdays for reference, if not for issuing and returning of books, few practice theory. When the students can come to college on Saturdays, why can't the library staff? "If the staff is given an off on a rotational basis, why only Saturday, libraries can be made functional on Sundays too!", says Sneha Datta, this year's pass-out from Delhi School of Social Work (DSSW). Two years back, Sneha and other students of Masters in Social Work (MSW) took matters into their hand and mentioned the hiccup to the HOD. The Student Union took the plea to the general body meeting and now the issue stands resolved.
Akshay Gambhir, 2nd year student of Bachelor in Business Studies from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Business studies mourns the loss of their beloved canteen. "It's been nearly a year since our canteen closed down due to some tiff between the library staff and the care-taker. Now we need to run outside college even to grab a bite between classes or study on an empty stomach."
All said and done, DU must be commended for its sense of humour. All these glitches serve as infallible excuses students tell us. All of the above can be turned around as valid answers to questions like, why didn't you manage a decent college, why don't you go to college, why didn't you submit your assignment on time and why can't you concentrate in class, etc. No pink slips for ECAs? Excellent excuse for short attendance! Come exam time and Priya Goswami cries "Boyfriends should go on a break!" Go on DU, Pass the buck!
Aatir Zaidi, pass-out from Cambridge school, has applied to journalism and psychology honours courses in colleges of Delhi University. Journalism is his first preference, but being unable to crack the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) journalism entrance he doesn't exactly feel on top of the world. "I've given Maharaja Agrasen College (MAC)'s journalism entrance too and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's my last hope of making it to journalism in DU since there is no other co-ed college other than DCAC and MAC that offers the course. Mass Comm. was never an option as Bachelors in Mass Media and Mass Communication is only offered by Indraprastha College which is a women's college." Unfortunately for Aatir the prospects are dim in psychology too, with only 3 co-ed colleges in DU boasting of a department in Psychology.
Outraged students continue to protest against OBC reservations, maybe still unaware of the fact that general category seats aren't affected. But that raises a very valid question as to how the management plans to incorporate the students from reserved categories in the existing infra-structure? Kalindi has a single loo, Vivekananda has a hostel with 50 seats; something is better than nothing they say. The Principal of a highly reputed college, who wishes to remain anonymous, says, "We have increased the seats as per SC guidelines for the OBC quota but we just one tank of drinking water, so will the new students remain thirsty?"
Regular classes still don't take place in all colleges, even though university has introduced rules to keep a check on teachers' attendance. A teacher from an off-campus college tells us that most of the staff of her college comes to college just to collect their pay. Students make the best of it, by taking up part-time or even full-time jobs to earn extra pocket money.
Despite university rules stating that all DU colleges must have their libraries functional on Saturdays for reference, if not for issuing and returning of books, few practice theory. When the students can come to college on Saturdays, why can't the library staff? "If the staff is given an off on a rotational basis, why only Saturday, libraries can be made functional on Sundays too!", says Sneha Datta, this year's pass-out from Delhi School of Social Work (DSSW). Two years back, Sneha and other students of Masters in Social Work (MSW) took matters into their hand and mentioned the hiccup to the HOD. The Student Union took the plea to the general body meeting and now the issue stands resolved.
Akshay Gambhir, 2nd year student of Bachelor in Business Studies from Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Business studies mourns the loss of their beloved canteen. "It's been nearly a year since our canteen closed down due to some tiff between the library staff and the care-taker. Now we need to run outside college even to grab a bite between classes or study on an empty stomach."
All said and done, DU must be commended for its sense of humour. All these glitches serve as infallible excuses students tell us. All of the above can be turned around as valid answers to questions like, why didn't you manage a decent college, why don't you go to college, why didn't you submit your assignment on time and why can't you concentrate in class, etc. No pink slips for ECAs? Excellent excuse for short attendance! Come exam time and Priya Goswami cries "Boyfriends should go on a break!" Go on DU, Pass the buck!
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