The University of Delhi (DU) is planning to rope-in the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the entrance exams for admission to various courses to the varsity. The proposal has been approved by the admissions committee and has already reached the NTA. The director general, NTA, Vineet Joshi informed indianexpress.com, “we have already received the proposal and have given a nod now they (DU) have to decide the rules of conducting the exam and we will reach a conclusion thereafter.”
Talking to indianexpress.com, Delhi University admissions chairperson, Rajeev Gupta said, “There is a proposal to ask NTA to conduct the DU entrance exams. The exam will only be for the courses for which entrance is already a mandate and no new courses are being brought under the ambit. The pattern and syllabus for the exam are also to remain the same.”
Read| Application forms to release after entrance date is decided: DU admissions 2019
While admissions to most of the courses in the DU are merit-based, there are some courses for which entrance exams are conducted.
The varsity was mulling to take the entrance exam process online since three admission cycles now but there have been many rifts within the varsity regarding the idea. Hans Raj, professor, member of academic council and former member of admissions committee said, “The proposal to take entrance exam online has been there within the varsity since long but if this is accepted then it might prove to be unfavourable for students hailing from rural areas or with lesser privileged backgrounds as they are likely to face issues attempting exams online.”
Read| Why are DU admissions 2019 being delayed?
The demand for the same has caught fire again after the NTA has been appointed to conduct the entrance examinations for the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The JNU entrance going online and objective-type based had received flak from the JNU students union (JNUSU). The JNU students Union (JNUSU) has opposed the MCQ-based exam claiming, “The time-tested method of conducting JNU entrance exam assessing the different aspects of a student’s potential for learning and research has been replaced without any academic reasoning.”
Following JNU’s path, the DU has also decided to give some advantage to students from government schools and those who have done their schooling in villages. This is in addition to the benefits given to female students.
The proposal for DU’s entrance exam has not been discussed in the academic council (AC) meeting yet which is the standard procedure. The rules regarding the exams are likely to be discussed in the next meeting of AC.
Read| No faculty, but Rajasthan University’s center for mass communication to function
The DU currently conducts entrance examination for admission to courses including — B.Com (honours), journalism courses, BBA, BFA, Elementary education Music, Humanities and social science, physical health education and sports, BTech in informatics and mathematics vocational.
Read| DU to introduce 30 new courses, hike 282 seats across colleges
Meanwhile, the DU will be introducing 30 new courses across colleges from this academic year. Additionally, 282 setas have been added across DU in already running courses. Read more