Delhi University's SOL seeks extension of admission dates

NEW DELHI: Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL) could not initiate its admissions for the 2020-21 session on time as it was waiting for University Grants Commission’s (UGC) annual approval. However, the process ended on Monday, even before the admissions to DU’s colleges got over.
The SOL authorities have now written to the university and UGC seeking extension for the last date to December 31.Amid the pandemic, curtailing the SOL enrolment window to less than a month has not only brought down the annual admission numbers by half but also affected many underprivileged and other aspirants who have failed to secure admissions elsewhere, they argued.

SOL could initiate the admission process for the academic session only after it got the approval of Distance Education Board of UGC on October 19. The regular undergraduate and postgraduate admissions at DU are still on and those under extracurricular activities and sports are also pending. The usual practice is that the SOL admissions are completed only after closing the process at DU’s regular colleges.
J Khuntia, convener of SOL’s admission and students’ welfare committee, has argued in the letter that many aspirants, especially those belonging to the underprivileged section, should not suffer during the pandemic. “It is well known that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced all to postpone their programmes and make adjustments. So, it was not surprising that the SOL admissions were postponed from June-July to the beginning of November 2020 for the 2020-21 session,” he wrote, pointing out that the delay reduced the duration of the process from more than two months to less than a month.
Even the number of admissions has also got reduced by 50% this year due to this curtailment, he added. “This is a serious problem. Going by the policy of the government to create more space for adjustment to face the pandemic situation, the squeezing of admission time span at SOL is shocking and surprising and painful for poor students,” wrote Khuntiya.
SOL’s officiating principal, U S Pandey, has also written to the authorities seeking permission for extending the admission deadline.
Despite repeated attempts, DU’s admission branch could not be contacted.