North-south divide at Delhi University

Allegations of discrimination in admission process between the two campuses

If you want to make your admission to the Delhi University 'official', head north. The varsity's south campus has been given almost a complete miss by DU representatives as well as student bodies who help admission seekers. While hundreds of stalls have been put up at the north campus to facilitate prospective students, aspirants at the south campus are alleging discrimination.



Gaurav Nigam who bought the common admission form from the Arts Faculty at the north campus and went to submit it at ARSD College in the south campus was stunned to see the disparity between the two zones. "I have scored 93 per cent marks in the CBSE boards and was willing to take admission in Sri Venkateswara College. However after looking at both the sites I changed my mind about studying at south campus."

"While at north campus there were so many people to help me out, there was no one at the south campus. Different parties had put up their helpdesks at north campus but you can hardly find one at the other site. Moreover the teachers in the south campus were also not too cooperative," Nigam added.

However officials from both campuses believe the students are treated at par. Dr. Dinesh Varshney, Dy. Dean, Students' Welfare (south campus) said that fewer colleges in the south campus compared to the north creates the illusion of disparity.u00a0 On the other hand north campus, Dy. Dean, Students' Welfare, Dr. Gurpreet Singh Tuteja said, "While things are easily visible at north campus, students find it difficult to locate such facilities in the south. Otherwise we are totally unbiased in proving any kind of amenities."

When MiD DAY contacted student's wing, ABVP and NSUI, both admitted the laxity of DU officials towards admission seekers. Ashutosh Srivastava, ABVP State Secretary said that there is no administrator from DU at the south campus and admission seekers are in a lot of confusion. However he denied carelessness from their end.u00a0 "We have helpdesks but not in the same proportion as at north campus," he claimed.

Anand Pandey, National General Secretary, NSUI said, "We have been working hard to help out both north and south campus students. However the university has failed to provide enough assistance to the students."