New Delhi, June 17
There has been a growing resentment among the applicants seeking admission to English Honours course as most of the colleges of Delhi University (DU) have made it mandatory to pass the entrance test.
With 30 to 33 colleges under DU offering a programme in English Honours at the undergraduate level and approximately 1,000 seats, some of the best colleges like Hindu College, Miranda House, Lady Sri Ram College for Women (LSR), Gargi College, Kamla Nehru College, Ramjas College etc. have made the admission, if not entirely, but partly, on the basis of the entrance examination.
“It’s not justified. I have scored 87 per cent in English in my CBSE exams. And now the college authorities are asking me to appear for an entrance test. Scoring these marks are not that easy. I have actually slogged the whole year to get good grades,” says Shriya Chandra, a perturbed applicant, who passed out from Welham’s School, Dehra Dun.
“Though I have scored more than 80 per cent in my CBSE exams, when it comes to the entrance exam for English Honours, I am at par with a student who has scored even less than 50 per cent,” says Mohit Chaudhory from Amity International, Delhi.
“An entrance test for journalism does make sense to test the general awareness of the candidate but for English, I think there is something amiss,” he added.
“According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), each college is an autonomous body and we work according to the norms laid down by the nodal authority. The UGC clearly mentions that in the entrance test, the grades in class XII examinations should also be taken into account up to a minimum of 30 per cent of the total number of marks the candidate has obtained. For example, if a candidate has scored 80 per cent, 30 per cent of the total marks will be added to his performance in the entrance test. The written test carries 50 marks with 15 and 5 per cent for oral interview and general awareness, respectively,” said Dr Hema Raghavan, Dean, Student Welfare, Delhi University.
“English is not our mother tongue. After all, it’s a foreign language. An entrance test aims at seeing how articulate a student can get. The CBSE follows a different set of evaluation and the language is comparatively easier at the school level but doing a course like English at the undergraduate level is a different ballgame altogether. A person who opts for such courses should be fully abreast with all the latest books and should have a penchant for English language. Communication skills are the key to pursue a subject like English Honours,” she added. “Students should not have any complaint regarding the English entrance
test. There are only 10 to 12 colleges in DU, which conduct the entrance examination for English. These colleges have approximately 300 seats out of the 1,000 total seats. It’s just that the best colleges want to take the cream for best results in a long run,” said Dr
Raghavan.
