Several students and stakeholders were calling for restoration of the ECA Quota. Now, Students are expressing disappointment over the decision to admit students only based on certificates without trials, calling it an incomplete restoration.

According to Yashvardhan Shukla, Various Disciplines under the ECA do not have stipulated authorities to issue certificates, unlike the sports quota. He is a student of Sri Venkateshwara College, who has been campaigning for the restoration of the ECA quota.

No way to check authenticity of certificates

Members of the academic and executive council also wrote to the Vice Chancellor on Monday. They argued that depending solely on certificates would not be a sound basis for evaluating the performance of individuals and called for trials. ECA trials can be held at the college level to ensure physical distancing, They suggested.

Competitions are held at various levels, such as inter school, intra school, where judges may be people who aren’t experts. Certificates aren’t a representation of an individual’s ability and may also be easily forged, said Manya Dobhal, who got a seat in Lady Sri Ram College through dance ECA quota in 2018.

Why no trials?

An official said that a university sub committee formed to look into the matter had considered various options for holding trials, before deciding not to. Online Trials were ruled out because of technological issues. There are nearly 25,000 ECA applications. The University’s servers wouldn’t be able to take the load If videos were to be uploaded. In case of live video calls, applicants who don’t have appropriate means or have poor connectivity may be at a disadvantage.

The University is considering another option, holding trials through a third part agency. But this was rejected because the cost of this would be extremely high and participants would still have to travel to the centre.

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Admission in Delhi University (DU) may begin for the extra curricular activities (ECA) category. A meeting was of held on Monday. Additionally, the Standing Committee met to discuss the admissions for the ECA category.

Before, it was disclosed by the varsity that no admission will take place for the ECA. This decision was due to the ongoing pandemic. However, now admissions may start on the basis of only the certificates of the applicants. Additionally, there will be no trials for the same.

However, there are still doubts for the same. Arun Attree, one of the members of the committee emphasized on talking online trials for the students. He believes that there exists no way of checking the credibility of the certificates of the students.

Additionally, he also said that unlike sports, there is no means to check the authenticity of the ECA certificates as these are not government approved. Moreover, he also thinks that this might prove to be unfair for the genuine aspirants.

Although, it is difficult to organize online trials for the university. The university lacks the right infrastructure and experts to organize online trials for the students, as said by the members of the sub-committee.

The sub-committee will give out stricter guidelines since the ECA trials won’t be possible

Shobha Bagai, dean (admissions), DU said, “After the approval of the higher authorities we will revisit.” She further added, “The ECA admissions will happen only on the basis of ECA certificates. However, their verification is a big challenge. The sub-committee will give out stricter guidelines since the ECA trials won’t be possible. The chancellor had requested the vice-chancellor to reconsider the decisions.”

The final decision is likely to come in a day or two. Further, the last date to apply for the admission in the university is July 31. Additionally, the admission process is online this year, owing to the pandemic of COVID-19.

Related: https://www.dutimes.com/cultural-societies-of-du-stand-against-scrapping-of-eca-quota/

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“We the students of the pan DU Extra Curricular Circuit stand together in solidarity against the University of Delhi’s decision……..” The open letter to the Vice-Chancellor reads. It further said that the challenges faced due to the pandemic are understandable, DU should have consulted stakeholders before revoking such a revolutionary educational reform.

“The move rips apart the university’s cultural fabric and creates a void that engulfs any scope for artistic growth at the college level and beyond,” The letter said. “Anything less than a proper restoration would be a deplorable setback, and would surely taint Delhi University’s reputation at the national and international level.”

The letter has been signed by societies from various DU colleges including Miranda House, Hindu, LSR and many others. Moreover, the students have started an online campaign and Instagram account for the same as well which has 700+ followers. Many current and past ECA Students have come up with the need and significance of ECA quota in a student’s life by retelling their stories.

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Naidu was briefed about various issues including the issue of ECA (Extra Curricular Activities) Quota, Open Book Examination System. He was also briefed on filling in of the pending appointments of registrar, comptroller of examination, librarians, principals of colleges and other officials.

Naidu suggested that the university take prompt action on finalising the examination calendar as well as on filling up vacant positions.
According to Balram Pani, DU Dean of Colleges, the meeting with Vice President was very positive. “We will forward his suggestions over ECA admissions to the admission branch,” Pani said.

Delhi University had cancelled ECA admission this year due to the corona virus pandemic excluding NSS and NCC. Due to the lockdown and social distancing norms, there will be difficulties in conducting trials. This move has led to criticism from students as well as DU alumnis. Many students look forward to admissions under this category as DU cutoffs soar so high it can get inaccessible for many students.

Since then DU has received several requests from parents and students to reconsider the decision. Several letters were also sent to the university and the vice-president of India by artistes and by Rajya Sabha member KTS Tulsi, stating that the decision of no ECA trials would be disheartening for students who are involved in learning the arts.

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Delhi University will not be conducting admissions under the extra-curricular activities quota this year, a senior university official, asserted reports, The Hindu.

The official also said that online mode for conducting ECA trials was ruled out as there would be lag or glitches.

Apart from that, the authenticity of the performance would be questioned if a pre-recorded video is sent.

Nevertheless, admissions under sports quota will take place based on certificates but not on trials.

“There will be no trial. The admission will be done on the basis of certificates for sports. It was deliberated that it was not possible to hold ECA trials virtually,” said Arun Atree.

Arun Atree, who is one of the member from the committee, also asserted that it has been tentatively decided to open registrations for the admission on June 20, which will go on till July 4. The entire process will be held online with only final document verification would be done in person.

With that, the timetable for the release of cut-off lists would also depend upon the exams to be conducted by various school-boards and their results.

Mr Atree said that while he proposed the removal of the cancellation fee of ₹1,000 for students from SC, ST, OBC, EWS and PwD categories, as it would impede their free movement, the suggestion was not taken up.

“I pointed out that students coming from poorer sections will be at a loss because Rs 1,000 is huge. Three free movements should have been allowed,” Attri asserted.

Other suggestions which he made such as; furnishing the latest income certificates for OBC students and not penalising candidates for discrepancies on the caste certificate were accepted.

It is here noteworthy that officials asserted the final schedule for admissions will be released shortly.

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