St Stephen’s College has not accepted 12 applications under ‘single girl child’ quota: Delhi University

College principal John Varghese did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment.

“About 22 students applied to the college out of which 12 applications were under the single girl child quota. The college did not accept these applications,” Dean of Academics Haneet Gandhi told The Indian Express, adding that the college told the varsity its seats were full.

As per DU’s allocation under the quota, Stephen’s has to set aside seats for 19 such students.

“This year, we have instructed all colleges to admit extra students for optimal filling of seats. The percentage of allocation is based on various trends in previous years depending on the withdrawal rate, popularity, and other aspects of each college,” she added.

Gandhi stated that the university has communicated to the college to admit these students.

An additional 10 students were denied admission under the unreserved category by the college citing that there was no space, she added.

These students had written to Gandhi complaining about the issue after which the administration wrote to the college requesting it to accommodate them.

DU had earlier announced that starting from the 2024-25 academic session, one seat in all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across its colleges would be reserved under the supernumerary quota for single girl child students. This initiative, the varsity said, aims to promote higher education for single girls by providing them with additional support and admission opportunities.

This year, the varsity has 71,000 seats to fill in undergraduate courses. Classes for the new batch will commence on August 29.