The Hindu : New Delhi News : Debate over gap year

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Thursday, Jun 30, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Debate over gap year

The debate over gap year admissions is not yet over. A circular issued by Delhi University late on Tuesday evening is making colleges see red, what with the new directive making it necessary for colleges to admit students irrespective of their gap period.

Colleges say the circular has caused confusion, as it has brought in a new guideline by making the gap period null. The issue came into focus after a student was allegedly denied admission by Ramjas College because of a gap year. But the college -- which admitted the student eventually -- says the reason was not gap year but the student's inability to prove his reasons for dropping the year.

"The student did fall under our cut-off but he had hidden the fact that he had taken admission to St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, last year. Also, he said he could complete his course because of a kidney problem, which was not convincing because the medical certificate was dated October 2004,'' said the Ramjas Principal, Rajendra Prasad.

While pointing out that gap year students have been always admitted, Dr. Prasad notes that "the priority has to be students applying for the first time. There is no way of finding out if a student genuinely had a problem or is lying to us. It is a strange dichotomy considering our own students when they fail are considered ex-students till they clear their exams, so why should we give the seat to a student who did not use his first opportunity properly over someone who is making his first attempt for a place in college life?'' he asks.

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It happens to be a Delhi University post that saw a four-year-long court battle over its "rightful" heir.

But with Bidyut Chakravarty finally taking over as the head of the Political Science Department, the University may have lost more than just the case.

For an issue that saw much debate on the campus, the appointment is a victory for not just Dr. Chakravarty but all those who stood up against what they termed as "arbitrary appointments" made over the last five years of Deepak Nayyar's Vice-Chancellorship. Interestingly enough, the notification of Dr. Chakravarty's appointment was made by Prof. Nayyar -- who fiercely supported Prof. Rajeev Bhargava's appointment -- on May 2, just about a fortnight before his tenure as Vice-Chancellor came to an end.

A Reader in the Political Science department, Dr. Chakravarty became eligible for the post of Professor under the Merit Promotion Scheme on July 27, 1998. The Selection Committee also recommended that the professor be promoted which the Executive Council accepted.

But Dr. Chakravarty received a jolt of sorts when Prof. Nayyar brought in Rajeev Bhargava -- who was teaching at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) -- as a professor on deputation in 2001. When Prof. Nayyar appointed Prof. Bhargava as the head, Dr. Chakravarty moved the Court against the decision.

The writ petition filed by him had challenged the notification issued on August 23, 2002, appointing Prof. Bhargava as the head of the department. Prof. Chakravarty had opposed the appointment on the plea that the University had flouted rules by bypassing his seniority.

The High Court had rejected Prof. Bhargava's appointment and also asked the University to consider Dr. Chakravarty's candidature for the post since he was the senior most in the department at the time of the concerned appointment. Not happy with the judgment, the University appealed against it. But this again was quashed by the Court, following which the University appealed in the Supreme Court.

"I am happy that the Court justified the sanctity of the University. The University was trying to defend a case that was indefensible'' is all Dr. Chakravarty had to say a week after he took over.

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For students looking beyond the normal, Delhi University may not have much on offer, but variety is clearly what private institutes are luring students with. And one of them seems to be the Amity Institute that boasts of 35,000 students, 130 programmes that are taught across its 22 campus addresses across the country.

From clinical psychology to counselling and forensic science to cyber crime and cyber laws, the institute offers students quite a lot to choose from. The institute currently offers a degree in Forensic Science, an area that is seen to have increasing relevance in today's time.

Involving the understanding of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Ballistics, Questioned Documents, Fingerprints, Photography, Toxicology, Pathology, Anthropology, Entomology, Psychiatry, Psychology, Odontology and Engineering, forensic science is seen as the answer to tackle the current crime scene in the country.

Having started one of the first Forensic Science courses at the postgraduate diploma level several years ago, the Amity Institute of Behavioural Health and Allied Sciences today offers B.Sc. (Hons.), M. Sc. and Ph. D in Forensic Science.

Lakshmi B. Ghosh

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