DU helpline gets 400 calls a day
At least 400 calls every day from India and abroad! The Delhi University helpline is flooded with phonecalls from students who are keen on getting admission to the best of colleges and in a subject of their choice.
Student counsellors attending to the callers - among them anxious parents too - say the frequency of phone calls have shot up dramatically over the last few days as board exam results are almost out and the varsity's admission process begins June 1.
"The frequency of calls to our helpline has increased drastically ever since the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared that the Class 12 results will be out Friday," said Aakansha Arora, a student counsellor.
The Class 12 Indian School Certificate Examination (ISC) exam results have just been announced.
"Even parents are calling us to enquire about the various courses that Delhi University offers and about the probable cut-off percentages for this year," Arora, who is a second year student of Daulat Ram College, told IANS.
Operational since May 4, the Delhi University helpline (011-27662507/08) has been getting nearly 400 calls every day from India and abroad. On some days the number crosses 550.
Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, deputy dean, students welfare, said most of the calls they receive are enquiries related to the admission process.
"The questions are mostly related to admission procedures, eligibility conditions, cut-offs, important dates and most sought after courses in the University of Delhi. Our student counsellors who have been trained for a week have been handling the calls," Tuteja told IANS.
"Whenever required, teacher counsellors have been pitching in too," he added.
A total of 16 student counsellors have been attending calls on the Delhi University helpline.
The admission process will begin June 1. The first cut-off list will be out June 25 after which admission into the various colleges will begin.
But the young counsellors don't just give information; they also lend a patient ear to nervous students and pacify frayed nerves as part of their responsibilities.
Angad Singh Kalra, a Delhi University student who has been counselling on the helpline, said: "Students are really nervous and from their voices we can tell how desperate they are to take admission in the varsity. In some cases, we have to console them and give a little emotional support."
The university will offer 49,000 seats this year in its 80-odd colleges.
Sanchita Verma, one of the many students who aspire to take admission, said: "I called the university helpline since I am absolutely clueless about which course to take up. As I am still awaiting my Class 12 board exam results, my main concern is which courses I should apply to if I score in the bracket of 80-90 percent or below that."
Shalini Saxena, head of the commerce department of St. Paul's school here, added: "This year the CBSE question papers were a little tricky; therefore I am a little apprehensive of the results.
"If the students don't score much, then there is a probability that the cut-off percentages in Delhi University won't go too high either."
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