Admission model in focus as DU looks to fill over 9,000 UG seats

Delhi University is scrambling to fill more than 9,000 vacant undergraduate (UG) seats as the fifth and final mop-up round of admissions gets under way.

While officials insist they are taking “all possible steps” to close the gap, faculty members say the large number of vacancies, especially in reserved categories, points to systemic “flaws” in the centralised admission process. The list of available seats was released on September 4, with candidates given until September 7 to apply. Allocations began on September 8, and the deadline for colleges to finalise them has now been extended from September 11 to September 12.

According to official data, the largest number of vacancies is in the OBC category (2,488 seats), followed by the unreserved category (2,130). Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories still have 1,332 and 1,582 vacant seats respectively. The Economically Weaker Section category have 1,359 seats unfilled, while minority quotas, including Sikh (391) and Christian (261), also show gaps.

Haneet Gandhi, Dean of Admissions, said the university routinely makes extra allocations to address such gaps. “Vacancies in reserved categories might appear higher because some students get their preferred choice in the unreserved category in the second and third rounds, without making use of the quota,” she explained.

This year, the University Grants Commission also directed institutions to admit students based on board marks rather than CUET scores to ensure seats do not go to waste. “We received representations from students in remote areas who either missed CUET, could not travel for the exam, or did not map their subjects correctly. This round ensures such students do not lose out,” Ms. Gandhi added.

‘Complicated system’

Teachers, however, say that the large number of vacancies is a direct result of the centralised admission system. Anand Prakash, professor and former member of Delhi’s OBC commission, said, “The centralised allocation system is complicated and lacks transparency. Students from marginalised sections suffer the most under this system.” Aditya Narayan Misra, national in-charge of Aam Aadmi Party’s teachers’ wing, traced the problem to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. “CUET was imposed under NEP, stripping colleges of their admission rights,” he said.

Bhagini Nivedita College has 709 vacant seats, Aditi Mahavidyalaya 674, and several others have around 300 to 400. Top-ranked institutions like Miranda House, Lady Shri Ram College, and Hindu College reported fewer than 20 vacant seats each. Mithuraaj Dhusiya, professor and Executive Council member said, “If final round admissions are based on board results, why were earlier rounds CUET-based? We cannot have two different parameters.”