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Why Off-Campus DU Colleges Find It A Struggle To Fill Seats | Delhi News - Times of India

New Delhi: Despite the fierce competition for a Delhi University (DU) seat, hundreds of undergraduate spots lie vacant every year, mostly in off-campus colleges. This year, the university is trying something new: allocating up to 100% more students to these colleges to ensure fewer empty seats.But why do these institutions fail to attract enough students in the first place? Is it the branding gap between North Campus and the rest of DU, or do deeper concerns like poor infrastructure and lack of visibility drive students away? TOI spoke to stakeholders to understand what keeps aspirants from opting for off-campus colleges, even when it means giving up a DU degree.Every year, DU sees fierce competition during admissions, but the irony lies in what happens after the final rounds: seats go unfilled. And this isn't an isolated case -- off-campus colleges are the worst hit. Colleges like Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita and others continue to see hundreds of vacancies even after all rounds of allocation are complete.Data from Aditi Mahavidyalaya, a girls' college located in Bawana, illustrates the trend clearly. In 2022-23, out of 1,011 sanctioned seats, only 561 were filled. The next year, the number improved slightly to 620. But in the 2024-25 admission cycle, only 522 seats were filled -- almost half of the total capacity.Neelam Rathi, officiating principal of Aditi Mahavidyalaya, said the college faces high dropout rates, particularly in the second year, because of migration options and lack of hostel facilities."Students mostly drop out in second year due to the migration policy and the lack of hostel facilities. Ours is a girls' college, and after CUET was rolled out, many out-of-station students -- we used to get many from places like Bhavana or villages in Haryana -- come to take admission. But they need accommodation. Because there's no hostel and they have to rely on PGs, they often find the college far off and eventually opt out," she said, adding, "But it also shows our teachers are doing really well. Because of them, students score well and manage to migrate to other colleges."The DU ecosystem can broadly be divided into three types of colleges -- the high-ranking, well-known North Campus institutions like Miranda House, St Stephen's and Hansraj; mid-range colleges like Lady Shri Ram and Sri Venkateswara that may be off-campus but enjoy solid reputations; and the relatively low-preference off-campus colleges such as Aditi, Bhagini Nivedita and other evening colleges. Admissions tend to follow a pattern where the top scorers aim for North Campus colleges while others are filtered into the next two categories based on ranks and availability.So, what drives students away from off-campus colleges even when they are eligible?"The North Campus craze is real," said second-year DU student Lakshay, who chose to study a general BA programme in a popular North Campus college rather than pursue a core subject like Political Science in an off-campus institution. "It's not just academics. Campus life, crowd, infrastructure, exposure -- it's all here. Off-campus doesn't have the same energy."Another student said, "I had taken admission in an off-campus college but dropped out once I got through a private university with better campus life, peer circle and facilities."Poor infrastructure and lack of visibility continue to be a concern. "Many off-campus colleges were originally built to serve the local population in outer Delhi, but even students from those areas who score better choose more reputed campus options. Others migrate after first-year admissions," said a faculty member at Rajdhani College, located in west Delhi."There's a strong culture of migration. Students take admission wherever they can in the first year, and once CUET results or NEET/engineering results are out, or if they manage to secure a transfer, they leave," he added.DU authorities are aware of the challenge. To deal with the high vacancy problem, the university is implementing a new strategy this year. According to Prof Haneet Gandhi, Dean of Admissions, the university will make additional allocations -- up to 100% in some cases -- to fill seats in off-campus colleges."We will have 80% additional allocation for the unreserved category and 100% in SC, ST and OBC categories in off-campus colleges," Gandhi said. "In North Campus, additional allocations will be made only in language courses. For the mid-range colleges, there will be 20% extra for UR and 30% for SC/ST/OBC," Gandhi told TOI.Teachers suggest that DU should go further by allowing colleges to admit students directly after all CUET rounds are complete and if vacancies still remain."By allowing colleges to admit students on their own, DU can deal with this problem to a considerable extent. They can either use CUET or Class 12 marks in such cases," said a faculty member, not wishing to be named.

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