In order to give preference in admissions to students from the commerce stream and restrict the entry of those who had pursued sciences at the school level, a reputed college affiliated to the University of Delhi has raised the marks bar for the latter to an unbelievable score of 100 per cent in the higher secondary examination.

For the former, a lower percentage (which, itself, is quite high at 97 per cent) has been prescribed. The situation is only a little different in the other colleges of the University.

HONOURS COURSES

In general, the standard of college education in Delhi is perceived to be higher than in the rest of the country, though there are notable exceptions elsewhere. Delhi is probably the only university in the country which offers both Pass and Honours courses, the latter being considered superior to the former.

Seats in Honours courses are necessarily limited as they demand greater facilities like staff with higher qualifications, a well-stocked library and laboratories (for sciences).

Courses like Commerce (Honours) have other attractions in that a degree in them is perceived to be a passport to handsome employment. Hence, there is a heavy rush for admission to such courses of study, and that too in reputed institutions. Being their alumnus confers a badge of excellence on the scholar.

We have to address the issue of why a situation like the one obtaining in Delhi is not commonly encountered in other cities, although places like Mumbai and others may face a similar problem to some extent. The abolition of Honours courses in most states is one possible reason. The more rigorous a course of study is, like Honours, the greater is its appeal to bright young minds. It acts as a challenge and instils pride in them.

In the highly competitive employment market of today, an Honours degree holder from a premier institution has a decisive edge over other candidates.

SPACE FOR SCIENCE

Colleges in Delhi seem to prescribe high cut-off marks not only to select the cream of candidates from a particular discipline, but also to ward off a large number of applicants from other streams. It is also natural that the more reputed the college, the higher the cut-off. But what is difficult to understand and perhaps justify are the impossibly high bars that are being erected. The height of the bar must have some bearing on reality.

If, as has been reported, among those who have applied for admission to the Commerce (Honours) course in a particular college, there is only one science student who has secured a 100 per cent aggregate in the recently held CBSE Class XII examinations, it is clear that no other science student would be admitted even if the bar were to be lowered at a subsequent stage, as he or she may not have applied at all.

Fixing higher cut-off marks for science students seeking entry into the humanities is based on the belief that it is easier to score high marks in the sciences than in the humanities. This was probably true in the days gone by when, as a matter of principle, examiners would give not more than 6 or 7 marks out of 10 for even an exhaustive and well-written answer in a subject in the humanities. At the school level this is no longer so.

To ensure uniformity in evaluation and near parity with science students, the question paper format itself has been modified to demand short answers only. No lengthy essays need to be written now. Hence, to a great measure, the old difference in evaluation of science and humanities answer scripts no longer exists.

This brings us to the position that while some consideration could be given to students with a humanities background in admissions to humanities courses, the best way of doing this is not to shut out science students by raising the bar, but to allocate a proportion of seats to them.

This percentage should not be a token but a meaningful one like, say, 20-25 per cent. Such an allocation should not be considered high, as experience shows that science students, owing to their rigorous training, soon overcome their initial shortcoming and master any new subject they take up for study. A look at the number of engineers holding high managerial positions in the industry, and that too in the financial sector, or those making their entry into the civil services would bear this out.

ENTRANCE EXAMS

To regulate admissions to courses in demand, such as Commerce, in premier institutions in the country, Mr Kapil Sibal has suggested the holding of a national-level entrance examination on the model of the IIT-JEE or the AIEEE or the AIMEE. Such an example is available in the form of the Common Law Entrance Test for admissions to the National Law Schools.

This has enhanced greatly the prestige of legal education in India. In addition, schools of excellence could be set up in almost all disciplines so that the present invidious distinction between the so called hard subjects like engineering and medicine on one hand and the supposedly soft ones like History or Philosophy on the other is eliminated.

Till such a time arrives, one hopes, college authorities in Delhi would be more reasonable and eclectic in the matter of admissions. Don't forget, top-notch American business schools admit students with a first degree in Music!

(The author is Former Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.)

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