Jamia Millia Islamia might consider merit-based admissions to its undergraduate and postgraduate courses this year in case it is unable to conduct entrance tests due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, college authorities confirmed to us that a final decision is still awaited. "We have not taken a decision so far. In the last notice we have asked students to upload their qualifying examination mark sheets because things are not clear for us as of now. We do not know what the near future will bring or what exactly the situation will be. We have been conducting entrances since the beginning and we had all kinds of plans and mechanisms in place to conduct the entrance exams. However, due to COVID-19, every other exam has gotten delayed, so to make it easier for us and the students, we asked them to upload the mark sheets while applying or even the ones who have already applied," Ahmad Azeem, Jamia's media coordinator told Edex.
He also added that if the situation arises that the varsity is unable to facilitate and conduct entrance exams, with all the delays and no guidelines yet about the reopening of colleges and universities in the country, Jamia might consider the merit-based admission procedure. "We haven't received any guidelines from the UGC yet about reopening the universities. In the earlier years, by this time all our entrance exams are completed. So, we do not know what the situation will be this time around. To make it more efficient and seamless, we are asking them for the marksheets so that we have a ready database of their marks if the need arises to ahead without the entrances. Later on, it will become problematic to ask for these at the last moment," he clarified.
A recent notice issued by the university’s Controller of Examinations on August 20 asked candidates who have already applied to upload their mark sheets on the admission portal. "All aspiring candidates are required to upload mark sheets of qualifying examinations, including those who have already filled in online application forms using their login id and password," the notice stated. Majid Jamil, the Teachers' Association president also said the same thing and clarified that there has been no decision to completely do away with the entrance tests. "We are waiting for the UGC guidelines. The university hasn't taken any decision yet regarding this," he said.
The university’s admission portal displays a message, saying, “Please reconfirm that you have filled all academic details properly. Merit list would be prepared based on the data entered by you here. No further claims for changes will be entertained.” This has created confusion among student groups like the All India Students' Association's Jamia faction, who feel that the merit-based admission system, if taken up, could prove to be discriminatory. "Merit-based admissions create a huge opportunity for back door entry which is an unfair disadvantage to deserving students. Merit-based admission at Jamia would accommodate the rife social-educational-economic-
