School education boards have been rather reluctant in doling out marks this year and hence, had directly incline DU colleges to bring down their cut-offs for many courses.
Delhi University officials even compare this year’s cut-offs to 2013’s.
The drop in about 20 colleges’ cut-offs ranges from 0.25 and 4 per cent. And among these, the highest cutoff — after a gap of five years — has not crossed 99 in the best-of-four (BFS) for humanities aggregate: Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) recorded 98.5 in aggregate in the best of four for Psychology (H), which is the highest. The highest score for science was recorded by SGTB Khalsa for BSc Electronics with 99.66% in aggregate.
This move, as explained by the “top” colleges of DU, is to provide more “realistic” first cut-off because previously, they fell short of admissions once the second cut-off list was released. This decision has resulted in a significant drop in cutoffs in colleges like LSR, Ramjas and Hindu, known for their sky-high entry percentages.
Lady Sriram College has dropped it’s cut-offs from 97 last year to 95.5 for Psychology (HONS) and from 98 to 97.25 for BCom (HONS).
According to Anju Srivastav, principal of Hindu College, the reduction has been made to ensure a good pool of students is admitted even in its second list, which usually is more realistic than the first. “We did our homework and saw a drop in the cutoff would be better. We had kept the first cutoff high last year and, though the intake was good, there was a reduction in the intake from our second list. So we decided it is better to give a reasonable first cutoff this year to reduce the burden on students,” she said.
In SRCC, among the colleges that have the highest cut-offs, the entry percentage for B Com (Hons) has fallen from 98 to 97.75, and for BA Economics (Hons) from 98.25 to 97.75.
A number of colleges on- and off-campus, like Kirori Mal, Satyawati or Ramanujan, have preferred to maintain the same line of cutoffs as last year for a majority of their courses. “Usually, in the first cutoff list we get a trend of what higher colleges are getting. So, being in the mid-level, we have that advantage. We have maintained the cutoff limits so that we can see how others take their first lot and then make the second list more reasonable,” said Dinesh Khattar, principal of Kirori Mal College.
Admissions for the first cutoff list start from Saturday and continue for three days. The second cutoff list will be issued on July 1, 2017.