Many who enrolled in other colleges barred from seeking admission to SRCC under sixth cut off list

With a day left for admissions to Delhi University, under a special drive to fill reserved category seats, several aspirants complained that Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) has denied them admissions despite their having scored the percentage required under the sixth cutoff list.

“I had taken an admission in Hansraj College because we cannot afford to wait till the sixth cut-off,” said Saloni Kumari, 18, a resident of Muzaffarpur, who wants to prepare for CAT. “I have always dreamt of studying in SRCC and have been closely looking at its cutoffs since Day One. So, I went to the college to get an admission there under the sixth cutoff.”

However, Kumari, and several others, were told that those who had took admission in other colleges before the special drive commenced would not be allowed to cancel their admission and enrol in a different college. Although special drives have been happening in DU for a long time, several stakeholders said this is the first time that the university has laid down such a rule.

Several students said they learnt about it when they saw the notification issued by SRCC which stated, “candidates who are already admitted in college/department as on July 29 shall not be allowed to cancel and seek admission in the sixth cutoff list”.

The college did not respond to texts, phone calls and emails, seeking its comment on the issue.

While the DU press release doesn’t mention anything about this, letters sent by the admission office to college principals mention that “applicants in unreserved category who are already admitted in any college/department as on July 29 shall not be allowed to cancel and seek admission in this list”. However, candidates under the reserved category could cancel and seek a readmission if the course was open.

Ravi Ranjan, whose cousin Priyanshi Shroff was seeking admission under the OBC (other backward class) category, said she could not get an admission in SRCC.

Ranjan said they were considering approaching the court. “College authorities gave several reasons, like they were overburdened and did not have the necessary infrastructure to accommodate more students. I think they are just delaying the process because Saturday is the last day for admissions under the sixth cutoff list.”

Another OBC candidate aspirant, Prasurjya Saikia, a resident of Guwahati, had already cancelled his admission in Hansraj College to seek one in SRCC. “The admissions team told me that if Hansraj College writes to the university, then they will restore my admission. I want to study in SRCC but I have to get an admission somewhere. Running around like this is tiring. I just hope I get to study in SRCC,” he said.

Chairperson of the admissions committee Rajeev Gupta said admissions of those who had cancelled them would be restored. When asked about the problems faced by students, Gupta said, “Everything is subject to availability of seats. This was mentioned in the press release as well — only reserved category students would be considered but that might not have been clear to some people. If there are two seats and 40 candidates, colleges cannot admit everyone.”