The Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) held a protest demonstration outside the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor’s Office here on Thursday where a joint meeting of the varsity’s academic council and executive council was convened to discuss the issue of the funding crunch faced by 12 colleges.
The students demanded 85 percent reservation for the Delhi government school students in these 12 colleges that are fully funded by the state government.
Carrying posters bearing slogans like “Our funding, our seats”, and “Say no to shoving government school students in SOL”, the students gathered outside the VC office raising their demands.
“Every year lakhs of students pass out of Delhi schools, especially the schools run by the Delhi government. These students are mostly from deprived sections and first-generation learners from their families. However, very few are able to make it to the higher education institutions in Delhi, especially the DU, because a large majority of seats are cornered by private school students from Delhi as well as from other states, including in Delhi government-funded colleges.
Also Read: DU admissions: Nearly 92 % of UG seats at Delhi University filled in first round; 65,800 students admitted
“As a consequence, most of the students are shoved into pathetic informal-mode institutions such as DU’s School of Open Learning (SOL) or are forced to drop out altogether,” the students body said in a statement.
As per the Shri Prakash Singh Committee constituted by the DU Executive Council in December 2023, these 12 colleges were established especially for catering to the needs of the students of Delhi and, therefore, are 100 percent funded by the Delhi government, it said.
“This expressly implies that these 12 colleges are being run through Delhi’s taxpayers’ money. We demand that these DU colleges must cater to the educational needs of Delhi government school students,” the statement said.
The students have demanded that a provision should be made to reserve 85 percent of seats for the Delhi government school students in the 12 colleges.
They have also demanded that evening classes should be started in all Delhi government-funded colleges and the total number of seats in Delhi University should be increased.
Also Read: DU finalises probe committee’s recommendations on irregularity in 12 fully funded colleges
