DSGMC-run DU colleges to have independent admissions?

New Delhi: Four Delhi University colleges run by the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) are likely to have independent admissions from the upcoming academic session and will cease to be a part of the centralised DU admission process.

The colleges - Mata Sundari College for Women, Sri Guru Nanak Dev (SGND) Khalsa College, Sri Guru Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa (SGTB) College and Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce -- were granted minority status by the Delhi High Court last year when the admission process was underway.

DSGMC has now approached Delhi University officials seeking persmission for an autonomous admission process like other minority colleges, including St Stephen's and Jesus and Mary College.

The four colleges were established for the children of refugees who crossed over from Pakistan after the partition and have a combined student strength of around 16,000.

"By the time the High Court cleared the air last year, the admission process was already underway and two cutoff lists were out. So, it was not practically feasible to have a separate admission policy in place then," DSGMC President Manjit Singh GK told PTI.

"We are hoping to get a clearance from DU this year. We have asked the university to allow us benefits given to minority institutions and let us follow their norms," he added.

Officials in the university said no final decision has been taken in this regard.

The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) had granted minority tag to the four DU colleges in 2012, following which the varsity had approached the Delhi High court challenging the decision. The HC had last year upheld the minority status.

As per the government's reservation policy, these institutions are expected to have a quota for the minority they were set up to cater to (Sikhs in this case) to the extent of 50 per cent.

They need not implement the mandatory reservation, which other affiliates of DU are supposed to do - be it 27 per cent OBC quota, 15 per cent SC quota or 7.5 per cent ST quota.

Being a Christian minority institution, St Stephen's and Jesus and Mary College are allowed to follow an independent schedule and procedure for admission to undergraduate courses. Unlike other colleges, Stephen's holds personal interviews for candidates whose scores meet the cut-off list.

DU has constituted a 24-member committee, comprising deans from faculties of science, commerce and arts, nine college principals and members of the executive and academic councils, to formulate an admission policy which will be notified by the next month.