New Delhi, June 23
With Delhi University all set to declare the first cutoff next week, admission experts advise students to keep a close watch on School of Open Learning (SOL) as well, insisting that there is no major difference between a regular and a SOL degree.

HC Pokhriyal, executive director, SOL said, "The course and exam pattern are the same as those of a regular DU course. We have already admitted 3,000 students in this academic session and expecting more once the admissions for regular courses are closed."

For students who fail to get the course of their choice due to high cutoffs, they can get the same course at SOL. The school offers several benefits to its students such as a relaxed schedule that allows them to pursue a course and do a job. The students have the same curriculum as that of a regular DU student," said Gulshan Sawhney, deputy dean, students' welfare.

Officials insist that SOL degrees are in no way lesser. They have the same social and academic values. The students also have the benefit of registering for placements in the first year of study.

"Now, during the placement season, recruiters ask for students from SOL. Last year, we included SOL for the first time in our placement plan. Thousands of students got good placements, even though we found it tough to advertise our plans. This year, with better promotion of these benefits, we can reach out to more number of SOL students," Sawhney said.

"It's a wrong notion when students think that a regular degree will be of more advantage to them than a SOL degree. There is no mention in the certificate of the college or the mode of learning through which the student has studied. Every student gets the same degree bearing the DU stamp. And when looking to hire, companies do not bother about a regular or a non-regular course, they just look for skills," he added.

New Delhi, June 23
Gone are the times when Delhi University evening colleges were considered inferior as students with much less percentage opted for them.

The principals of evening colleges now say that the results from over the last four years clearly pose a tough competition to regular students.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that the cutoff for evening colleges is not much less than the regular colleges now and the gap is only closing up further. If a regular college admits a student at 90 per cent, evening colleges would admit students at a minimum of 85 per cent.

"Many students prefer course to college. And hence if they fail to make it to a regular college by 3 to 4 per cent marks, they opt for evening colleges. Cutoff for B Com and Economics (Hons) is usually very high for evening colleges as well. The craze for popular commerce and arts stream courses is pretty much evident here as well," said Dayal Singh College (Eve) principal Deepak Malhotra.

"Last year, cutoff for B Com (Hons) in our college was 83%. And relying on the trend this year, the cutoff is all set to rise for other courses as well. The competition is getting fiercer by the year," he added.

"Students in the evening colleges are also the ones with good scores. They have other priorities or constraints because of which they choose to study in an evening college. Even the UGC has now asked universities to promote study patterns in shifts so that more students can benefit from the same infrastructure," explained Deputy Dean Student Welfare Vikram Saini.

"Students who come up with queries are quite worried about the reputation of an evening college. We have been advising them that an evening schedule will not only suit them better according to their needs, but will also give them the same quality education as regular students," said a volunteer at Gargi College today.

"Currently DU has over 79 colleges, out of which 10 run evening classes. If more colleges start running evening classes, this would definitely take some pressure off the regular courses. Some DU colleges have excellent infrastructure, which can very well accommodate evening shifts. The university is already pondering over the possibility of doing the same," said a senior Delhi University official.

"To build new colleges isn't a feasible option right now. The university operates 28 Delhi government colleges where the possibility of beginning evening classes is much higher," added an official from the Department of Education, Government of Delhi.

New Delhi, June 23
A 19-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly killing his five-year-old neighbour after kidnapping him from Samaypur Badli.

Vikas Kumar, a resident of Raja Vihar, allegedly kidnapped Rajbir Singh's son Rounak on June 14.

DCP BS Jaiswal said, "Rajbir had told Vikas that he had recently sold his ancestral property in UP and wanted to do some business in Delhi. Vikas was in need of money and he planned to get it by kidnapping Rajbir's son."

He kidnapped Rounak when he went to play in a nearby.

Rajbir approached the police on June 15. On June 16, Rounak's elder sister Rukmani got a ransom call demanding Rs 5,000. The police traced Vikas through technical surveillance. The police learnt that the mobile phone number used by him belonged to one of the victim's neighbours. Vikas was nabbedlast evening.

He confessed that he lured Rounak by showing a Rs 10 note for purchasing a packet of biscuit. Vikas killed him after failing to find a suitable place to hide him. He smothered and strangled Rounak and dumped the body in an open drain near Libaspur, said Jaiswal.

Rajbir had shifted with his family from Farrukhabad to Delhi in search of a job in May.

New Delhi, June 23
Two men were arrested for allegedly transporting 22 cartons of illicit liquor in a car with a red beacon from Gurgaon to Delhi. They planned to sell it at double the original rate at Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh.

According to a police official, the accused have been identified as Naresh Kumar and Monu. Aged around 30 years, they are residents of Bulandshahr.

A team of excise and police officials was formed for the operation. The two men were apprehended from NH-8 on June 21 in the early morning.

"They had bought 22 cartons of Bestos whisky from Gurgaon in Haryana and were transporting them to Delhi in a white Ambassador car. They were planning to take it to Bulandshahr, where they would sell it at double the price," said the official.

The liquor was reportedly for sale in Haryana only and the accused were allegedly trying to sell it without paying the tax.

Investigators are probing if Naresh and Monu are part of a larger gang. The official claims that both of them have been involved in such cases earlier also.

The investigators are also trying to verify if the car belongs to a Member of Parliament (MP) or is a government vehicle.