One student’s placement status says “verified by convener” but it has not been processed further. Another student says she was never given the fee payment link after placement. Upon contacting the university, they were told that the places were already full. This has left the students, all with high scores, and their families in a dilemma as they are now unable to opt for their second choice.
According to a senior university official, the number of candidates is 22.
“My daughter scored over 780 out of 800 in the CUET and was allotted a place at St Stephen’s College in the unreserved category. According to the allotment status, it has been ‘verified by the convener’. However, nothing has happened after that. It was her first preference, so there is no option to ‘upgrade’. It is a child’s fundamental right to be able to ‘upgrade’. They have removed that option in this case. I have been calling Stephen’s helpline all day. They say it is not their responsibility and the places they had have been filled. Her prospects of getting into another college have vanished. What are we supposed to do now?” said one aggrieved mother.
She is not the only one facing this situation. The situation weighs heavily on the candidates and their families. Many are left with a discouraging question: what was the point of standing out in the CUET if this is the result they are left with?
A candidate with a CUET score of 770 said, “After my application status showed ‘to be verified by the college’, I have been calling St Stephen’s repeatedly. Till two days ago, they were saying that the verification would be done soon. But yesterday when I called, they said that the seats were full. I followed the entire process laid down by the college. And now I am left with nothing. They should have notified us earlier or given us an option to choose something else.” According to a TOI source, St Stephen’s also rejected one of the two candidates who had the same score. As per the college rules, if two candidates have the same score, both of them will be given a seat in the college allotted to them. However, this means that the number of students admitted to a college could exceed the 5% additional seats allotted. Haneet Gandhi, dean of admissions at DU, said that the additional 5% allotment was decided in consultation with the college. “What St Stephen’s have done is, for example, if 5% gives 11.4 places in a course, they have rounded it up to 11, which means one place less. Whenever we round up for admissions, we do it up to the limit for the benefit of the candidates. But they have followed their own pattern. Now they say it is over their capacity. Of course, students will be worried.”
In response, the school continues to maintain that all available places have been allocated through the proper procedure. In a statement, St Stephen’s principal John Varghese said: “Despite a request that no additional places be allocated to the school this year, it was ultimately agreed that only 5% more places would be allocated. In addition to this 5%, the school accepted allocations in three special categories, including ‘single girls’, for each programme.”
(With TOI tickets)
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