New Delhi, July 06: With more than 43,000 applications, BA Programme was shaping up to be Delhi University’s most sought after course for this academic session.
Two rounds of admissions later, some “reputed” colleges have managed to fill merely 29 out of 82 stipulated seats.
“We are surprised the BA Programme cut-offs have come down so much and that admissions are still open after the third cut-off list. It is for the first time this has happened in our college,” Nirmal Kumar, admissions convener at Sri Venkateswara College, said.
Kumar said: “Maybe applicants are not getting a positive feedback about the course. I also believe restructuring the course has also not gone down well with students,” he said.
Kannan Nanda, principal of Daulat Ram College for Women, however, said: “As far as my college is concerned, I can say that BA Programme is becoming a popular course. The college still has a few vacant seats because the course has many different combinations.
Most of the popular combinations, like the ones with Economics, are full. Only ones with courses like Sanskrit still have vacant seats,” she said.
But Nanda conceded that a majority of students join the programme because they are not able to make the cut for the Honours courses. “Although, nowadays many students opt straight for this course as it provides a lot of flexibility and options, a lot join the course because the cut-off marks for Honours courses are on the higher side,” she said.
Moreover, university officials say the trend is not surprising. “First of all, the number of applications that we receive through the OMR forms doesn’t necessarily indicate that a course is popular.
Students apply for multiple courses and this course is generally a back-up for most students,” Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, Deputy Dean Students’ Welfare, said.
Tuteja said that for most students Honours courses are the first choice and even attributes the large number of applicants for BA Programme to a ‘misconception’ about the course. “Applicants don’t always really know the difference between an Honours course and a Pass course when they are applying. But by the time they take admission, most applicants feel that Honours courses are a better option,” he said.
–Agencies