Jamia Millia Islamia recently announced that it might consider a ‘merit-based’ system to conduct admissions this year and the news has left students furious and anxious. The students have been saying that they consider this move 'anti-student and anti-minority' but what has left some student groups even more angry is that they have allegedly been given the cold shoulder by the administration when they approached it to have a dialogue on the issue.
Jamia's unit of the All India Students’ Association and other organisations said that they tried to meet with the Vice Chancellor on August 27 but were stopped outside the office by the security guards. “We were made to submit the memorandum in a makeshift box and we were not given an acknowledgement either. The officials just made hollow assurances. Later, we tried to meet the Jamia Teachers’ Association to raise concerns of students and submit the memorandum but we were denied entry by the guards and officials,” the AISA statement said.
However, the media coordinator of the University said that no decision had been taken on the issue and it is yet to be discussed by the executive council, so there was no question of the students getting angry or issuing statements. "We extended the date for application and simple asked students to upload their marksheets. We have no taken any decision yet, the executive council is yet to discuss. The health and the interest of the students will be kept in mind as far as possible when taking any decision. So we request the students to avoid any speculation," the media coordinator and PRO of the University said.
“The University failed to have a dialogue with the students on the issue. The silence of key demands like clearing the uncertainty regarding merit-based admissions is taking a toll on students. The administration also failed to offer any satisfactory explanation as to why such an anti-student policy is being brought forth. This only makes us think that larger forces are at play,” the AISA said.
In their memorandum, the AISA said, “Merit-based admissions create a huge opportunity for back door entry which is an unfair disadvantage to deserving students. The financially sound, the upper caste, the residents of big cities and a status quoist procedure. Jamia is dominated with middle and low income students.” They also pointed out in their letter that 76 percent of students of Jamia hail from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. “Nearly half the students - 45.4 percent - belong to tier-3 cities, small towns and villages. Merit based admissions at Jamia would accommodate the rife social-educational-economic-
The students pointed out that CBSE students score higher marks in the board exams in comparison to the state board and madrasa board students where the marking system is less generous. They also brought in the section of students that have decided to drop a year due to the intense mental stress they are facing due to the delay in the admission process. So a merit-based admission system, if adopted, could filter out many deserving candidates.
“From our experience last year during the admission session, in which a lot of discrepancies were taking place including the Jamia administration not making the rank list public, we are sceptical that this kind of admission will make space for corruption. Any new experience in school admissions will leave students in the middle of nowhere,” the students said in their plea.
The students are demanding that the administration doesn't base the admissions on merit and conduct the admissions based on the transparent mechanism of entrance tests and for it to be conducted after the pandemic is brought under control. They also demanded that the rank list of students who would appear for the entrances this year be displayed before the selection list is released.
