DUSU moves HC challenging DU decision to consider only class 12 marks for admission

NEW DELHI: Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the varsity's decision to consider only 12th standard marks for the admission of students from Kerala state board which determines the grades by combining marks of class XI and XII.

Justice Prateek Jalan has asked the counsel for DUSU to satisfy the court on the union's locus standi in filing this petition on the next date of hearing on November 10. As the counsel for the university was not present at the hearing, the court asked the DUSU counsel Ashish Dixit to serve the petition copy to him.

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DUSU, in its plea, said it was approaching the high court against the “arbitrary, irrational and unfair conduct” of authorities which have violated the fundamental and legal rights of innumerable students. It said that in terms of the consistent policy, certain state boards including Directorate of General Education (Higher Secondary Wing), Government of Kerala, gives combined marks of both XI and XII standard on the mark sheets.

The policy explicitly states that to determine grades of students, combined marks of both XI and XII shall be considered, it said. The petition, filed through advocate Ashish Dixit, said the Delhi University for several years correspondingly incorporated provision in Admission Bulletin stating that in cases where state boards publish marks of both XI and XII standard, merit of students shall be determined on the basis of such consolidated mark sheets.

“The respondent no. 2 (DU) has unilaterally and arbitrarily decided in its admission process of 2021-2022 that students would only be required to fill marks of XII standard. When the admissions began for the sessions 2021-2022, the colleges raised and conveyed objections with regard to mark sheets containing marks of both XI and XII,” it said.

The plea added that initially, the university directed that such cases be kept on hold, however, within a few hours, the admissions office of DU circulated an email to colleges asserting that the Admission Advisory Committee has decided that only marks of XII standard shall be considered.

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It said the state boards declared results in accordance with long standing policy which was notified for the examinations conducted for academic session 2020-2021. It said the union gave a representation to the authorities and met the highest officers of the university but they have not acted in any manner for the welfare of students after which the petition was filed.

Earlier, the high court had dismissed a petition which alleged a “disproportionate” number of admissions of students from Kerala state board in Delhi University, saying fixing of cut-offs was a matter of the varsity's admission policy. The earlier petition was filed by a DU-aspirant seeking a “scaling mechanism” for marks scored by students from different boards in order to provide a level playing field.