Two DU Colleges In Bawana And Najafgarh Offer Class 12 Admissions For 2,000 Vacant Seats
Two Delhi University women’s colleges in Bawana and near Najafgarh have begun admitting students directly based on their Class 12 board examination results, after nearly 2,000 seats remained vacant under the centralised Common University Entrance Test (CUET) admission process. The separate admissions are underway at Aditi Mahavidyalaya in northwest Delhi’s Bawana and Bhagini Nivedita College near Najafgarh, close to the Delhi-Haryana border.
The university granted permission for separate admissions for the first time this year to help the two off-campus institutions fill their seats. Both colleges completed their first round of admissions on Friday and are scheduled to begin the second round next week. Admissions are being conducted both online through the colleges' websites and offline on their campuses.
Under DU's Common Seat Allocation System portal introduced in 2022, both colleges faced severe drop-offs in enrollment. Aditi Mahavidyalaya, located 31 km from DU's North Campus, has filled no more than 40% of its seats in recent years and has around 1,000 vacant seats this year. Bhagini Nivedita College, situated 59 km from North Campus, reported 985 vacant seats in its admission prospectus.
A Delhi University official noted that permission for separate admissions was granted because seats were going unfilled, primarily because the colleges are situated on the outskirts of the city. College officials explained that students applying through CUET often prefer central campus areas close to coaching hubs and choose not to commute long distances.
Aditi Mahavidyalaya principal Neelam Rathi said a centralised preference-based system is ill-suited for institutions established to serve surrounding rural belts. She stated that allowing separate admissions will motivate local girls to pursue higher education.
Students seeking admission cited multiple challenges with the centralised process, including a lack of awareness about CUET in schools, distant examination centres, and strict subject-mapping rules. Sumaiya Khan, an 18-year-old science student from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, secured a seat in the BA Programme at Bhagini Nivedita College through her board marks after CUET subject-mapping rules initially made her ineligible for humanities courses.
Last year, the university conducted a centralised mop-up round based on board examination results to address vacant seats across the university. College authorities had been seeking permission for independent admission processes since last year before receiving approval for the current academic session.
