http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Stephens_gets_only_6_Dalit_aspirants/rssarticleshow/2128743.cms
Stephen's gets only 6 Dalit aspirants 17 Jun, 2007 l 0226 hrs ISTlSonia Sarkar/TIMES NEWS NETWORK NEW DELHI: St Stephen's College has reserved 10 per cent seats for Dalit Christians but received applications from only six Dalits this year. The BA programme seems to be a popular choice though a few have also applied for English and History. A college official said, "We have received 12 applications from six Dalit candidates and most of them have applied for the BA programme. A couple of them have also applied for Economics, History, Physics and English." Principal Valson Thampu said not many applicants were expected this year anyway. "We didn't expect many applications this year from the Dalits as there were only three days available to apply after the new admission policy was declared. And this is a huge segment of socially and economically underdeveloped segment of society which is in the dark and has not been given opportunities for higher education. We expect more applications next year as the new policy will create some hope for them," he said. To accommodate a good number of Dalit aspirants, the college had lowered its cut-off to 60 per cent, but college sources said only a few candidates have met the eligibility criteria. Asked if the cut-off could be lowered further to accommodate all Dalit applicants, Thampu said, "We cannot lower it further in order to maintain the academic standards of the College." All Dalits and Christians will be given admission only after verification of their certificates. To avoid any manipulation, the Church of North India has instructed the local churches to take appropriate measures before issuing any certificates. "We have instructed all local churches under the Diocese of Delhi to issue certificates only to those Dalits who have been registered with the church for at least six months. And I have also asked the priests to take up this job honestly to avoid manipulation," said Ret Reverend Karam Masih, Bishop of Diocese of Delhi. The College has been also cross-checking all quota applications and has rejected a couple of them. "I am going through the applications of each quota candidate and so far I have rejected three Christian applications as the certificates were not proving their caste status," said Thampu.
