The Delhi University announced the first cut-offs for various colleges under it, late last night and was made public this morning by the newspapers. There was joy on many faces, but more faces showed somber mood within. A couple of colleges had 100% as cut-off in the B.Tech computer science courses, while a few stopped short of it by saying 99.75%, a little consolation, for honours courses in Commerce and Economics.

Do colleges have any choice? I wonder and so do many, that, how can someone get 100% even in subjective courses like psychology and economics; one can understand in courses like Mathematics and Physics. And the trend is not limited to CBSE, it has been with many state boards too. Wish all these 100%agers bring a few more Noble Prizes for India, on their journey of life.

– Delhi University has received over 2.5 Lakh applications this year. Now on an average, every student has applied to 6-8 courses across the colleges… How many distinct applicants really?
– Most of the students do not really know what they want to do in life, so hedging across courses.
– And going to DU. to a college in the north campus is a lifestyle statement; Parents want an epaulet; students want to be the ‘in’ thing out there

What will the colleges of the university do when students with such high scores apply, and in so many numbers, from across the country? Only possibility is, look at the trend of scores of the students this year, and look at the trend of final choices by the students in the last couple of years for your college, and take out cut-off for each of the courses, hoping such and such numbers would join. If students play games in applying, colleges play with cut-offs.

On Doordarshan’s News Night, this evening, we had discussion on the current scenario – Cutt-offs, pressures on students, their parents and family, the choices that they have……. The News Anchor was Gautam and my fellow co-panelists were Prof Pradhyuman, Principal, The Hindu College, DU and two young girls – Amrita, aspiring for the journalism and mass-communication course and Ruchika, an enthusiastic economic honours aspirant. Both Amrita and Ruchika did not make it in the first cut-offs list, but hoping to make it in the next.

In the English panel, we had on panel, Mrs Usha Albequerque and the principal of Deen Dayal Upadhyay college of the Delhi university.

The discussion was on the way ahead for students and the university too!…. variety of ideas discussed

– Why not have entrance exams for all courses and have weightage for class XII marks and entrance exams too so that so many talented 60-70% students too will have a chance to showcase their aptitude for the subject and enter
– Why not have more colleges in Delhi university
– Why not more universities – The best of the colleges of DU can be converted into universities and compel to open up in larger campuses
– Why this flock mentality among students, only for certain courses, and to north campus?
– Why no focus among the students, and applying for a variety of courses; what can family and society do
– Why not to other universities in the NCR or elsewhere in the country, so many good colleges exist
– What pressures play on students from family and society, how to facilitate them…

whether you had watched the show or not, I am sure you too will have a few things to say… kindly share your thoughts here …