Delhi: St Stephen’s stay shortlived for these students

NEW DELHI: From being ecstatic about studying at St Stephen’s College to being asked to leave within a week, several first-year students are now a disappointed lot.
Many of them withdrew their admissions on Tuesday after the institute told them that the Delhi University (DU) portal had allotted them other colleges. The situation has left them emotionally drained and concerned about future, they said.
One of the aspirants, who has now got Jesus and Mary College on the portal, said, “I was not in an emotional state to go to college on Tuesday and simply accepted the JMC allotment as I don’t want to lose out on my DU seat. This is a matter concerning our future. We went for interviews, prepared for them and worked hard for it. Now when Stephen’s has already asked us to attend classes, how can we suddenly be allocated some other college?”
She added, “No matter who we approach, they are citing our preferences and saying the allocations are based on an algorithm. However, the fact is that the interviews were taking place independently. So if we have already taken admission at Stephen’s, why can’t the algorithm be corrected?”
In an email communication sent to the shortlisted candidates, the college had “congratulated” them and asked them to join the orientation programme on November 7, following which the classes began.
A parent whose daughter had secured admission for a BSc course said, “Though we have accepted the JMC allotment, we have not withdrawn from St Stephen’s yet. We will fight till the end. I had been waiting at the university’s grievance cell since 9am and it was only around 5pm that we were told to meet an officer at St Stephen’s on Wednesday. We are trying to keep our hopes up.”
They have come from outside Delhi and the girl had even filled application forms for the hostel. “We were so happy to receive the congratulatory email. We thought everything was fine. But all of a sudden, this came up and I don’t know whom to turn to. My daughter broke down and has been in a shock, just like many other students who are facing the same ordeal. I have told her not to give up hope.”
Despite repeated attempts, senior DU officials and the college administration did not respond on the matter.