Delhi University (DU) has granted special permission to two of its colleges — Aditi Mahavidyalaya and Bhagini Nivedita College — to admit undergraduate students through merit-based admissions in physical mode to fill seats that have remained vacant despite multiple rounds of the CUET-based admission process.
The move marks a departure from the university’s the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-based admission system, under which admissions to undergraduate programmes are conducted through the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS).
Bhagini Nivedita College, in a notice dated August 1, invited applications for merit-based admissions in physical mode for several undergraduate programmes, including BCom, BA, BSc and other courses.
The notice said admissions would be made strictly on the basis of Class 12 marks and availability of seats, with applications to be submitted by August 5. Document verification and fee payment are scheduled for August 6 and 7.
College authorities said they had sought permission from the university after several rounds of CSAS admissions over the past few years failed to fill available seats.
Officials from the two colleges attributed the persistent vacancies to their location and the limited applicant pool for women-only institutions.
Bhagini Nivedita College said a majority of seats continued to remain vacant even after multiple rounds of CUET-based admissions, prompting it to seek permission for merit-based admissions.
Aditi Mahavidyalaya, situated in Bawana, said around 40 per cent of its seats have remained vacant in recent years under the CUET admission process.
College authorities said many students from nearby rural areas, particularly girls, do not register for CUET because of concerns about studying far from home, resulting in several eligible candidates being left out despite strong Class 12 performance.
The college maintained that CUET would continue to remain the primary mode of admission and that the merit-based process was intended only to fill vacant seats after the regular admission rounds.
The decision has drawn criticism from the Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC), which has urged the university to adopt a uniform policy for filling vacant undergraduate seats across all colleges instead of extending the facility to only two institutions.
INTEC has written to the vice-chancellor seeking a common and transparent mechanism for such admissions.
