After CUET, Kerala Board students go from second highest to seventh at Delhi University

CUET has provided equal opportunity to all as individual boards have their own rules, regulations and methods of evaluation, says DU Vice-Chancellor

Students from Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education, who formed the second highest number of candidates to be admitted to undergraduate courses at Delhi University last year, have slipped to the seventh position this admission season after the introduction of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), according to admission data shared by the university.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which has affiliate schools across the country and therefore applicants from various States, remains at the top position this year as well, followed by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination. The State education boards of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana are placed higher than the Kerala Board, according to the admission data available after the second round of seat allocation.

This year, DU has introduced a new admission policy that uses CUET scores to admit students to undergraduate courses. It has reduced board exam scores to a qualifying mark and has ensured that an anomaly that often arises with students of a particular board filling up a number of seats due to “inflation of marks” has not arisen.

‘Common platform’

Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on Friday said, “CUET has provided for a common platform and equal opportunity to all, as individual boards have their own rules, regulations and methods of evaluation. We wanted to minimise this disparity and CUET is a good option as it provides an equal platform.”

Last year, of the 146 students admitted to B.A. (Hons.) political science in Hindu College after the first two cut-off lists, 120 were from the Kerala Board of Higher Secondary Education. The cut-off for the course in the first list was 100%. This year, only one student from the Kerala Board has got admission in the same programme.

In 2016, students from Tamil Nadu State Board had bagged the majority of seats at Shri Ram College of Commerce, which had set its cut-off at 98%. This, however, is no indication that students from a particular region are not getting admitted to DU as CBSE has affiliate schools across the country, a Delhi University official said.

At the end of the admission season 2021–22, the then Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi had set up a nine-member panel to study why the Kerala Board students secured admission in such high numbers. The report by D.S. Rawat, Dean of Admissions, found that there was a significant variation in the marking scheme across the State boards in India.

CUET was introduced this year and while making the announcement, University Grants Commission Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar had said the aim of CUET was to provide equal opportunity to students from across the country who seek admission from different boards and apply from different regions.