Why is the Delhi University helpline getting so many calls
New Delhi, July 16: From parents filling up their details in their wards' admission forms to candidates mentioning wrong gender, Delhi University's admission helpline has had a busy time providing answers to queries from harried applicants and their parents.
The helpline, which was made operational on May 7, has been handling 120-130 calls from students and parents on a daily basis, apart from helping colleges in solving various issues.
A
counsellor
at
the
helpline
said
that
many
students
reached
out
to
them
with
the
problem
that
their
parents
filled
in
their
own
details
in
the
application
forms.
In
a
case,
a
young
man
had
called
the
helpline
saying
that
he
had
mentioned
his
gender
while
filling
up
his
sister's
form,
thereby
rendering
her
ineligible
for
admission
to
women's
only
colleges,
said
another
counsellor.
The
helpline
also
get
queries
to
which
the
counsellors
don't
have
an
answer
to,
they
said.
"This
time,
a
candidate
called
us
saying
that
she
has
filled
her
gender
as
'others'
but
in
six
months'
time,
she
will
be
undergoing
a
sex
change
operation
to
become
a
woman.
So
what
should
she
do?" the
counsellor
said.
He said that he had passed on the query to his seniors and a decision was yet to be taken on the matter.
Another common query that counsellors get is about the candidate not being able to generate his admit card for entrance exams or not being able to pay fees.
In many cases, candidates fill two forms and admission cards are generated on both but they can take the exam on only one of the applications.
"After they have cleared the entrance, they usually forget on which admit card they had taken the entrance exam and try completing their formalities on the form on which they had not taken the exam," he says.
Students are not only curious about their own admissions but they also call up counsellors to ask about other students who have scored high marks.
"Many students call up to ask, 'Could you please tell me which student has got the highest marks in a particular subject? ' or 'Which of the applicants has the highest marks among all the applicants who have applied for this course'," the counsellor said.
In another case this year, a college staffer ended up paying the fee of a student who had asked him to cancel his admission.
"A candidate gave Rs 500 to a man sitting on the admission desk and requested him to cancel his admission. The college staffer inadvertently ended up paying the candidate's fee of Rs 5,000. He called us up on what to do but we could only tell him to find the student since the money will be refunded to the candidate's account," said the counsellor.
Counsellors say that they mostly get queries from students who are applying for admission to undergraduate courses and the number of queries has declined after the varsity announced its fourth cut-off list.