From a Bihar boy whose life went off track after his father’s death to an Uttarakhand girl whose family fell apart after her mother passed away, many who got admission under Delhi University’s newly introduced ‘orphan quota’ are teens who had their lives upended by tragedy. The opportunity afforded by the university now brings hope of a better, more stable future. Through the quota, Delhi University has made itself more accessible to aspirants who have lost both parents. Around 80 students got admission this year under the supernumerary quota, which reserves two seats for orphans in each programme of study at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Their tuition fees have also been waived. The Indian Express spoke to three students who are among the first to have reaped benefits of this initiative. Getting life back on track Before his father’s death, Shreshth Kumar planned to build on the family’s plywood business in Bihar’s Nalanda. His mother had died of cancer when he was 10. “Three years later, before I could even heal from her death, my father died of kidney failure,” Shreshth, now 17, said. Since then, he and his younger sister have been supported by their extended family. “Life went off track for a few years…nothing feels like home anymore.” When he was filling out his university application form in June this year, he discovered the orphan quota option, and was encouraged by the opportunity to study in DU without having to depend on relatives to pay the fees. With a CUET score of 570 and a class 12 Bihar Board exam score of 78 percent, Shreshth got admission in B.Com at Kirori Mal College in DU’s North Campus. “It has been over two months since I moved to Delhi. I am still figuring out how to make friends here and still feel a little lonely, but I now have hope that I can become something. I am not lost anymore. With this degree, I can at least get a job, earn some money and reopen my father’s shop,” he said. “If it wasn't for this quota, I would have taken a drop year,” Shreshth said. He said he still needs his relatives’ help in paying for accommodation in Delhi. He did not get hostel facilities in his college, and lives in paying guest accommodation in Pratap Bagh. The university has said it was working towards addressing this issue. His mother’s death, he said, had a lasting impact on his academic performance. “She used to help me with my studies,” he said. ‘Grateful, but nervous’ Sitting by the Vivekananda statue at DU’s Arts Faculty, 18-year-old Sahil took a long look at the campus around him, and said, “I consider myself lucky for this opportunity, but it came to me at a cost.” He was referring to the orphan quota, under which he got admission in Hindu College after he lost both his parents over the last three years. Three years ago, during the pandemic, Sahil lost his father – a nursing orderly in a government hospital – to heart failure. “The pandemic was a very difficult time for us as a family. Even before we recovered from the death of my father, we had to swallow another bitter pill…” he said. Last year, his mother suffered a brain aneurysm and died. After his mother’s death, Sahil, who was born and brought up in Delhi’s Najafgarh, took a year off and gave his CUET examination in 2023. He had completed class 12 in 2022 with 80 percent marks. “Every morning, I catch a bus from Najafgarh to North Campus and feel grateful for this opportunity, but I’m still very nervous about going to college. I am unable to make friends and feel under-confident,” Sahil said. He hasn’t told his classmates of his parents’ deaths. “I don't want to be treated with sympathy by people… For me, this is a new beginning,” he said. Sahil is currently depending on his uncle’s family for financial support and is hoping that his father’s pension comes through so that he can stop borrowing money. He intends to start coaching classes next year to prepare for UPSC. Tragedy and separation Karishma Bisht, also 18, lost her mother when she was eight months old. Hailing from Uttarkhand’s Almora district, she was taken in by her aunt’s family in Haldwani. “I do not remember much about my mother and how she passed away,” she said. Her family drifted apart after her mother’s death, creating a distance between her father and her elder brother, she said. It was only in January 2021, during the pandemic, that she found that her father had died due to a brain tumour. He was working as a driver with a hotel, and was in his early 50s. “I was not very close to my father or my brother as I didn’t grow up with them. I never let any of that affect me. I always knew what I wanted to become and went for it,” she said. Karishma did her schooling from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Haldwani. She got into Hindu College this year and is pursuing a B.Sc in Statistics. She scored 90 per cent in class 10 and 86.5 percent in class 12. “I found out about this opportunity in the news and thought this would be the best way to pursue my education further. I was always interested in mathematics and programming,” she said. It has been more than a month now for Karishma at Delhi University. Like Shreshth, Karishma also said not getting hostel facilities was an issue. She lives in PG accommodation in Kamla Nagar, and is hoping to get into the college hostel next year. “So far, I have been able to manage my education and personal expenses with minimal trouble as my education was free. My grandparents used to send me their pension money for my personal expenses. But now, living in Delhi is getting quite expensive and I am planning on taking up a part-time job or an internship somewhere,” she said. She dreams of becoming a data scientist one day. “I am also looking forward to starting my preparation from next year to join the Indian Statistical Institute after my Bachelors,” she said. ‘Pandemic was a turning point’ DU Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh said the Covid-19 pandemic forced university authorities to think about ways of helping those who lost their parents. “Although this quota is not only for children who lost their parents during Covid, the pandemic was a turning point in everyone’s life and made us all realise that life is too valuable,” he told The Indian Express. “There was a lot of discussion about whether the quota should be for students who come from financially challenged backgrounds, but we concluded that such parameters should be barred,” he said. Singh said he hoped that the university’s initiative would “act as a beacon of hope for many years to come and help many more children have a bright future”. On issues related to accommodation raised by some students who got admission under the quota, Singh said the university would take steps to address it. While there is a lack of openings in hostels, he said the university could reimburse the PG expenses of these students.
