The Delhi University (DU) on Monday asked St. Stephen's College to align its admission procedure with the varsity’s policy, noting that the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) will provide a level playing field to all applicants.
In a letter to the principal of the premier college, John Varghese on Monday, DU Registrar Vikas Gupta argued that adding a score based on an interview, to the score which has already been obtained through a standardised, statistically-robust procedure, CUET-UG, will introduce subjectivity in the admission process and eventually lead to discrimination, which is not desirable.
DU is at loggerheads with the college over the admission process as the college had earlier said it will accord 85 per cent weightage to the CUET score and 15 per cent to interviews for all categories of candidates. On its part the DU has said it is "firm" on its decision to declare "null and void" all admissions made by college in alleged violation of CUET guidelines. Gupta contended that merit list shall be prepared for all applicants based on the "equitable, fair, transparent, nationalised CUET-UG." The Registrar noted in the letter, "It is expected that the college aligns its admission procedure with the admission policy of the university, thus respecting the decision of the larger Bench of the Supreme Court.
Prolonging the discussion will also unnecessarily lead to confusion and inconvenience to the candidates seeking admission, which can simply be avoided."
The letter comes days after Varghese conveyed to DU that college would retain the interview process and urged DU to abide by 1992 Supreme Court verdict wherein admission procedure of college was approved by highest court in country.
Replying to it, the Registrar had said the 1992 judgment has "no direct relevance in changed facts and circumstances" as now admissions will be done on CUET-UG scores.
On Thursday, Varghese had written to DU, conveying that college will retain its "tried and trusted" interview process during admission and asked varsity to "avoid creating an unpleasant situation" for students seeking admission to college.
