New Delhi: This year, Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL) has raised their eligibility criteria to 40% for admission into B A and BCom courses. These programmes are the most sought after courses at SOL, with more than 30,000 students enrolling for them every year.
The decision of increasing the eligibility criteria has faced mixed reaction. Many people have opposed to the decision, as they feel that it will confine many candidates from access to higher education.
Professor K.B. Gupta, admissions committee convenor for SOL has said that the job of SOL is to provide higher education opportunities to students who have not been able to gain admission into regular DU colleges. However, SOL functions just like a regular college having procedures such as examinations, evaluations, etc.
J. Khuntia, member of DU Academic Council and Associate Professor of Economics at SOL opposed the DU authorities' decision and said that up till last year, students were eligible for admission through SOL, if they had cleared the Class 12 examinations. Students could opt for any stream of their choice, which ensured that higher education was easily accessible to them.
Furthermore, he added that the School of Open Learning is not a formal mode of education. It cannot have restrictions or strict criteria for admissions. J. Khuntia also mentioned that they have already written to the Vice Chancellor regarding their stance against this decision.
H.C. Pokhriyal, SOL Executive Director, has, however, defended the decision to increase the eligibility criteria and has said that it has been done to make the educational process at SOL equivalent to that of regular colleges.
