India Real Time presents a round-up of commentary and analysis of one of the week’s key news events – the Delhi University’s announcement of cut-off lists – with places at Shri Ram College of Commerce only available to students scoring 100% in exams.
Education Minister Kapil Sibal slammed the move as “irrational” and “exclusionary,” but Delhi University’s colleges have defended it as the best way to deal with the problem of over-admission.
“In a country where course curricula and evaluation standards vary from one education board to another, Delhi University is following a process that looks at only the marks as the sole criterion, irrespective of the board the student comes from. This is bound to create more tension between Delhi University aspirants and has the potential to snowball into a much larger issue,” he said.
“The question is: Where will all the toppers go? To America obviously, in droves, and also to fairly ordinary institutions in Britain, Europe, Australia or Singapore, to name a few popular destinations. As a result of the outflow, the cost of education at foreign universities for Indians could shoot up, not to mention sociological downsides related to race attacks against Indians,” the editorial added.
Referring to the “stratospheric cut-off criteria” in courses and colleges, the India Today magazine Friday said on its Web site that hundreds of students rushed to get a hold of their allotted seats wherever they could, lest they lose out on a seat altogether.
“The uncertainty among aspirants is rooted in the absurdity of the cut-offs declared by colleges. Aspiration was pitted against opportunity. The former lost,” it said.
At a time when reforms are being introduced to de-stress the education system, high cutoffs at Delhi University are being seen as a setback to modernizing higher education in India.
A preview of undergraduate admissions in other countries shows that marks of 'one single examination' cannot be the sole criterion to admit students in colleges. The focus of western countries is on a 'full and rounded view of all applicants'.
Peter J Quagliaroli of Groton School, Massachusetts, said, "Admission to selective colleges and universities in the United States is based on the confluence of a host of critical factors." Students are evaluated on their numerical profile - a holistic review of their cumulative grade point average (GPA), their SAT or ACT score, their scores on various Subject Tests (SAT II) and Advanced Placement exams. Also, the student's application itself, which sometimes includes an interview, holds weightage in nearly all admissions decisions in the US.
"Students who put together an authentic application that includes thoughtful and revealing essays are certainly at an advantage," added Quagliaroli. Besides, counsellor and teacher recommendations from high school carry weight in the decision-making process. So do athletics and extra-curricular activities.
However, in the UK, there is no standard or average entry requirement that covers all universities. It varies from one university to another and depends on the type of course. Often there is a link between high demand for a course and higher entry requirements. Students apply via UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) which is a centralized application system, which allows them to apply to five institutions. The application form includes predicted grades, relevant subjects, statement of purpose and a reference letter from a professor/teacher in school/college.
"On the basis of these an offer is made to a student. The offers are conditional on meeting adequate grades in examinations. Most students in the UK follow the A level and IB pattern of education," said Kaushik Mitra, education adviser in India, University of Sussex.
While Gareth Morgan from Universities UK (the representative organisation for UK's universities), added that the UCAS Tariff is a system which allows students to use a range of different qualifications to help secure a place in an undergraduate course.
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