No good colleges in NCR so students prefer DU

13 June, 2012

Had there been good colleges in NCR, like in Gurgaon, then there would be no need for students to go to Delhi to take admission for their graduation and post-graduation courses. Presently, there is a race going on, to take admission in the best college possible now that the school-leaving results are out. The lack of colleges in Gurgaon and other regions of NCR is putting more pressure on Delhi University. Also, students, who get admission to far-flung colleges in Delhi, have to cope with daily travel. security, and the resulting loss of productivity.

FROM ALL over the country youth are making a beeline to take admission in Delhi University, and even for those with good percentage of marks are not guaranteed admission. The question arises, with so much pressure, why is Delhi the best place in NCR to get the best education? Why doesn't Gurgaon set and promote high-class undergraduate and post graduate courses? Specially so, as the Millennium City is already home to many manufacturing and services companies, and offer ready opportunities for trained or talented passouts.

Delhi and Gurgaon are not too far from each other but still traveling from Delhi to Gurgaon and vice-versa is not an easy task, especially for those students who want to take admission in Delhi University's North Campus, to pursue their graduation. These students are bound to travel for long distances not only for seeking admission but also for the duration of their course. Though there is the Delhi Metro, the daily grind of 3-4 hours of travelling, given Gurgaon's bad public transport, is a hellish experience. Though philosophically, it toughens up students, at least that's the reasioning that most parents end up taking.

Akhil Singh an engineer who did his engineering from IIMT Gurgaon but chose to go Delhi for his MBA, which he did from IMI Delhi - preferring Delhi as it was easier to commute and the educational institute was of good quality.

Education system is one of the focused areas, which has been given a priority by state and central government, but this is so only in the capital city or in some metro cities. Lack of equal-footing prestigious colleges in other cities like Gurgaon is putting more pressure on Delhi. "For MBA I found Delhi colleges are best, obviously if there are good colleges in Gurgaon I would not have gone to Delhi for my MBA, traveling so far and incurring more expenses," said Akhil Hari Singh.

Best known for its graduation course in managment, B.Com (Hon) or B.Com (pass), Economic (Hon) and many such courses are the life blood of DU, and people from all over the country come here. The situation in Delhi is such that colleges have no option but to fix their cut-off percentage to 100% so that they can reduce competition. This is something that most students, though equally bright, can't achieve so an education in a DU college remains a dream for many in Gurgaon - even after scoring between 80-90 per cent. Many end up taking admission in low-quality colleges locally.

It's not as if Gurgaon does not have good colleges for undergraduate and post graduate education. The city has Gurgaon Institute of Technology and Management (GITM), APEEJAY college of Engineering, ICFAI Business School, and IILM Institute of Higher Education, which are among a few good colleges of management and engineering. Gurgaon also has Amity University but in Manesar not within the city.

It's not only students but teachers and professors of DU also have to travel in buses and on metro to reach their far destination. "I choose to teach in DU because it is my passion but yes this is very difficult to commute from Mayur Vihar to DU North campus, which takes my maximum time in Metro which is fully crowded," said Parul Batra, who took a teaching job in DU and lives near Noida and used to travel daily to North Campus, told this Citizen Journalist . If this is the case with someone residing in Delhi, one can only imagine what sort of challenges people from Faridabad, Gurgaon, and Noida face.

Having more local collges in Gurgaon will also open employment opportunities in the city for edicational and non-edicational staff, and allow for greater migration of teaching staff across the NCR.