DU’s newest crop gears up to start UG courses

Delhi University (DU) is set to welcome a fresh batch of first-year undergraduate students on Thursday, with the admission of more than 68,500 applicants confirmed after the university released its second merit list.
University officials on Tuesday said that a joint control room, operated by the dean of students’ welfare (DSW) and proctor’s office, will be operational for the first week — from August 29 to September 3 — to deal with any problems that freshers might face during the onboarding process.

“The control room is being set up to deal with ragging complaints or any other problems. New students will be encouraged to reach out to us in case they need any help,” said DU proctor Rajni Abbi.
Separately, joint proctor Geeta Sahare on Tuesday conducted a class on ethics and values for the second- and third-year students. “We conducted an offline class in Janki Devi College and Keshav Mahavidyalaya. We have also taken online classes with senior students in Rajdhani College and Miranda House. The aim is to not just prevent ragging, but to sensitise students on how they should welcome their juniors,” Sahare said.
Colleges, meanwhile, made preparations for orientation programmes, guided tours for students and more.
Vipin Aggarwal, principal of Sri Aurobindo College, said, “We will hold an orientation programme for first-year students on Thursday itself. It will start at 10am and continue for around three hours. Students who have gotten admission in the college will be receiving emails by Wednesday.” Following the orientation, seniors will provide guided tours across the campus, Aggarwal said.
He said that the first week will be busy for the college administration as well as the students.
“A large number of students are getting admission through the second list as well. Since the admission process is still going on, new students will be joining throughout the next week. As for students, discipline specific classes start from Thursday but google forms will be sent to students for the electives, which will start next week,” he said.
Kirori Mal College (KMC), on the other hand, will hold their orientation programme at 5pm on Wednesday. College authorities said the programme will continue for two hours, and a helpdesk will be set up to help with any queries that the students or their parents might have.
KMC admission convener Ishpal Rawal said, “The general orientation is for everyone, where we introduce the students to college life, how college functions, committees and societies they can join, etc. On Thursday, each department will also have separate orientations.”
A student from Lucknow, who got admission at KMC in the political science programme, said his parents are in town for a week to settle in. “After that, I am on my own and that comes with both a sense of excitement and apprehension,” he said.
Last week, DU held joint meetings with college principals, police and hostel wardens — the period from August 12 to 18 was observed as anti-ragging week — to discuss measures for new students. “We have requested principals to introduce new fun sessions where seniors get to interact with the freshers. There will be continuous surprise night visits in hostels as well, along with mobile patrolling squads all over campus and police deployment near metro stations, bus stands and girls’ colleges,” said Abbi.
A campus security vehicle called Vamika has also been deployed by the university. There will be one control room in North Campus and one in South Campus, while the van will make rounds across both campuses. Meanwhile, DU continues to process the admission of students who have been allocated seats in the second list.
The window to accept allocated seats, after the second list was released on August 25, closed at 5pm on Tuesday. Colleges can verify and confirm admission of students till August 29. According to data provided by the university, admission of 68,500 candidates were confirmed as of 5pm on Tuesday.
DU admits students on the basis of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). After seats were allotted in the first round, candidates had till August 18 to accept the seat, and till August 21 to pay the fees. In the subsequent round, students had till Tuesday (August 27) to accept the allocated seat. The fees will have to be paid by August 30.
The university will declare the dates for a third round of seat allocation on a yet to be decided date, and officials said any pending admission along with candidates in supernumerary quotas of CW or armed forces, ECA (extracurricular activities), sports and ward, will be allocated seats.
Siddhant Singhania, 18, who got a seat at Sri Venkateswara College for BCom (Honours) in the first round, said, “This is all very exciting. However, I have opted for an upgrade to Hansraj or KMC. I have not gotten that in the second round, and I am waiting to see if I get upgraded in the third round.”