Student activists, along with the common students, organised protests at the University Grants Commission (UGC) on July 15, demanding immediate scrapping of interview criteria for admission in St Stephen’s College.

It can be recalled that St Stephen’s College had earlier declared that it would, contrary to Delhi University rules, conduct admission based on interview marks of the candidates, apart from Common Universities Entrance Test (CUET) scores. To oppose this, the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) activists, along with regular students, sat on an indefinite sit-in protest last month, but it was forcibly ended by the Delhi Police in collusion with the DU administration. However, they continued to protest even today, July 15. 

The activists also said, in a press release, that a delegation of their group met UGC Secretary, Professor Rajnish Jain, and submitted a memorandum addressed to the UGC Chairperson on the issue as well as other demands regarding provision of 20 per cent Deprivation Points to government school students in admission to various public-funded institutions, and starting of evening shifts in all public-funded institutions so that those hitherto outside of public-funded formal education are provided access to it. 

While condemning the university’s administration, they said, “The decision by St Stephen’s College goes against all attempts to ensure equality in education and only serves to entrench elitism in already-elite public-funded institutions,” in the press release. 

They also said that they would continue to intensify their protest and take it to the Union Ministry of Education in the coming days.