Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday against the Delhi University’s alleged discrimination against students who include certain subjects in their “best of four” while seeking admission.
Vijayan wrote, “It has been reported that several languages included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, including Malayalam, are not a part of the Modern Indian Languages list considered by the university. It means they cannot be included in calculation of the “best of four” marks, which determines the aggregate score for admission into DU.” Aspiring students who can include languages like Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Kannada, Marathi and Malayalam in their “best of four” aggregate are subjected to a 2.5%-deduction in their total marks, because these languages are not “academic subjects” listed by the University, he said.
Vijayan added that DU’s admission procedures was thus in violation of the Constitution. “It is a matter of great concern that a Central University is penalising their prospective students on the basis of their language, when it ought to lead by example in ensuring national integration,” the letter further said.
He urged the prime minister to take necessary steps to ensure that all languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution are included in the university’s admission process.
Dean of Colleges Devesh Sinha said he is not aware of such a letter, according to The Indian Express. “If it comes to us, we will look into it,” he was quoted as saying.
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