CUET-based DU UG admissions signal university’s ‘decline’; restore rights to colleges: AADTA

A Delhi University teachers’ association has demanded reinstatement of the old merit-based admission process conducted by colleges, highlighting the “grave danger” over vacant seats in DU following the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-based undergraduate admissions.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s teachers’ body argued that as a result of the Common Seat Allocation System ( CSAS ) for DU UG admission 2025, a large number of seats are vacant which is not a good sign for the academic standing of the one of the country’s most popular universities. Even after 50 days of the commencement of Delhi University admissions for undergraduate courses, a total of 9,543 seats across different streams or courses remain unfilled, AADTA noted.

Noting the official data on the university website, admission.uod.ac.in, for the mop-up round, the teachers’ association said that Aditi College has 674, Bhagini Nivedita College 709, Zakir Husain College 387, Kalindi College 385, Dyal Singh College 311, Bharti College 307, Shyam Lal College 301, and Deshbandhu College 295 seats still lying unoccupied.

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“Seven rounds of admission have already been completed, and now the university has announced a mop-up round. Even after this, if seats remain unfilled, it reflects the flaws in the admission process,” the teachers remarked.

DU UG admissions based on CUET

Condemning the university administration for adopting a centralised admission system based on CUET, the teachers argued that not only has the process been stretched unnecessarily long each year, but seats also remain vacant. This not only affects the teaching and learning process in colleges but also the workload of teachers and in the future, they may have to suffer because of this situation.

AADTA thinks that this problem has its root in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, under which CUET was “imposed” on the university. By taking admissions away from colleges and centralising the process under its own control, the DU administration has openly violated the university’s ordinances and encroached upon the jurisdiction of colleges, it charged.

The current admission system at DU lacks transparency, and students are suffering the consequences, the teachers’ group further said. Those who secure admission late lose out on academics, as more than a month of the academic session has already passed. In recent years, this has also disrupted the academic calendar, it noted.

Given that, AADTA believes that the only solution to this problem is to restore admission rights to colleges. The earlier system, under which colleges determined cut-offs and granted admission, needs to be reinstated. If the university administration does not seriously address this issue soon, the university’s reputation will suffer severe damage that cannot be repaired. This situation signals the beginning of the decline of the university,” AADTA president said in an official statement.