Relief for outstation students as DU admissions begin

Outstation students and their parents today heaved a sigh of relief as the undergraduate admission process at Delhi University finally kicked off, ending an agonising, week-long wait.
With the first cut-off list out for most DU colleges, students from various parts of the country and even abroad are lining up for admission in the prestigious university. Aspirants included state toppers from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, among others.
But as the stand-off over the Four Year Under Graduate (FYUP) programme held up the admission process, the students found themselves facing accommodation worries as they were forced to extend their stay here.
Parents who accompanied their wards to the national capital had to deal with issues concerning leave from work and postponement of prior engagements.

"As a candidate for the BA (Hons) in History, I was under the impression that I would be through with the admission on June 24 itself, but the protests prolonged my stay in Delhi," said Nainika Dinesh, an NRI who had come from Bahrain along with her family seeking admission at St Stephen's College.
Kulwant Kinha, a student from Bangalore who had to extend his stay in the capital due to the admission delay, said he was "relieved" after the process finally began.

"My father had to extend his leave from work since we were not prepared for more than a week's stay," Kinha said.

Most of the students had mixed views on the issue of the four-year undergraduate programme. A number of them were happy that the FYUP has been scrapped while others felt that the decision was regressive.
"I think the FYUP would have been a success had it been implemented well. It was aimed at increasing the employability of the students abroad and could have helped us in the long run had it been done in a planned manner," said a student.
Meanwhile, with the admission process finally underway, many students are finding the cut-offs too high.
"The 100 per cent cut-off is very unfair. I think it is only a hype which colleges want to create by declaring cut- offs as high as that. It is just unachievable," said Ria Golecha, who got admitted to Sri Ram College of Commerce with 97.25 per cent marks in her Board exams.