Rejecting the charges made by a section of the students’ union leaders on admission malpractice, DAV (PG) College principal Devendra Bhasin said on Saturday that things are above board. “Following High Court’s order, admissions are being held on merit basis. As per the college’s sanctioned seats in various degree courses, the admissions were held for around 12, 500 students in the current academic session in the college,” he said, adding that most of the students’ leaders are opposed to the new and existing systems of admissions on sanctioned seats.
He said the policy which was followed in the college two years ago was that the students who approached the college for admissions were allowed to enroll. “But now the situation has changed and admissions in the college for the sanctioned seats are being held strictly on the basis of merit,” he said.
Bhasin further said that in the year 1999, the sanctioned seats for admissions in various degree courses in the college was fixed at 12, 500. Efforts were made in 2012-13 to check such indiscriminate admissions and it was decided to have the number of admissions reduced so as to ensure that admissions were held as per sanctioned seats in the college, he said. “However, we failed to act this way, given the pressure put by the students’ leaders. This resulted in 35, 000 students being enrolled in 2013-14,” he said.
“Acting on the High Court directive, we reduced the volume of admission, bringing it down to 25, 000 for 2014-15,” he said.
“Following the same yardstick, around 18, 000 students were allowed to enroll in 2015-16. For the session 2016-17, the college administration allowed around 12,500 students to enroll as per college’s sanctioned seat. But the students’ leaders are up in arms against us for the reduced enrollment based on the court’s directive,” the principal added.
However, the students’ union leaders again alleged on Saturday that some admissions in the college had been held this year flouting the High Court’s order. They demanded thorough inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the admissions indulged in this academic session. They reiterated their demand for the resignation of the college principal to facilitate a fair inquiry. They warned an intensified their stir if demands are not met soon.
College Students union president Rakesn Singh Negi alleged that there was irregularity in admission of a student and Bhasin had pressured the head of the department, Sociology to enroll Mansi Bhandari in MA first year, though her name did not figure in the merit list. Several such admissions might have been done in the college, he alleged, adding that a fair probe should be ordered to nail responsibility.
He further alleged that several text books worth Rs 12.50 lakh have been missing in the college library for the last many years. The students had raised this issue before the principal several times, but to no avail.
He said the verification of book stocks in the library has not been done by the administration for the past seven years. It is mandatory to conduct verification of book stock each year, he said. “The principal being the head of the college was responsible for completing verification of book stocks in the library. In the name of college development schemes, students are being charged but nothing is happening to better things,” Negi said.