OBC quota in DU: The ground reality

It's that time of the year when all roads lead to Delhi University where the admission forms are being given out till June 15. This time, the varsity has added more seats, but 20 per cent of the seats are reserved under the OBC category.

But are the students filling in the seats?

Rupali Devi works as a help at the Atma Ram Sanatanam College in South Delhi. Now, two of her sons are seeking admission to full-time graduation courses. And though they belong to the reserved category, they are not aware about OBC quota.

"I wasn't even aware of this. I figured this out when we were filling up forms," Rupali said.

It's been two years since the Supreme Court ordered 27 per cent quota in all Central universities for OBC students to be implemented in three years.

Last year, Delhi University set aside 10 per cent seats, but not all were filled up. This year the university is doubling that number but isn't sure if there will be enough applicants.

"We saw this in the Open Days, but we didn't have much of an enquiry for the OBC quota," said Dr Gurpreet Tuteja, Deputy Dean, Delhi University.

This year, there are 49,000 seats -- 7,000 more than last year -- to ensure OBC quota doesn't affect general category students.

"If the reserved seats don't get filled in they will be open for the General category," said Dr Gulshan Sawhney, Associate Professor, Delhi University.

As the rush for admission forms continues the better-informed students are making the most of OBC quota.

"DU will see a lot more students from the Northeast. They are better informed and have a better percentage," said Sawhney said.

After all those protests and the teething problems in it's implementation, the OBC quota is in it's second year. And with more number of seats it's a win-win situation for both -- the OBC and the General category students.

Tags: admission, college, Delhi University, DU, form, quota