With colleges doing away with the relaxations on marks they offered to the girls, Delhi Times speaks to students to find out if the rebate was needed anyway…

PRERNA JAIN & GARIMA MALHOTRA



Colleges in DU till last year offered a relaxation in marks to girls to encourage them to take up higher studies. But not anymore! Ramjas College is not offering the three per cent relaxation on marks it usually did to girls anymore. Moti Lal and Sri Aurobindo have done away with their five and two per cent too. This step was taken after the second cut-off lists were put up in colleges. And Rajdhani College is only offering two per cent instead of the three per cent relaxation it offered last year.
But the girls are not complaining. In fact, they are happy. Unnati Narang, an SRCC student says, “Academic excellence is the topmost priority for girls and we don’t support the relaxation clause. Over two-thirds of the strength of SRCC is girls and they’re there because they have scored higher than the guys and not because of a percentage relaxation offered to them.” Agrees Shreya Upadhyay, a Motilal student, “Girls are equally competitive. They are better than boys academically, as the XII standard results prove. The time when the rebate in marks was considered helpful has gone, the battle of the sexes is at par now.”
Boys agree too! Sahil Verma, a Venky student avers, “In top colleges, there is no relaxation for girls but still they are more in number. There are 14 all girls’ colleges in DU and that goes on to justify that the relaxation should be done away with. Plus, over the years, girls have been topping the Boards with huge margins anyway. The advantage is that almost all the girls’ colleges are good. If you compare, Gargi College is better than Ram Lal Anand (that generally tends to be the second choice for guys)! I don’t see a connect in this relaxation and encouragement. If DU wants to facilitate encouragement, the authorities should do it equally. There are enough downtrodden boys too. If a girl has scored in nineties and doesn’t get through a college of her choice, may be say Venky, she can at least bank on JMC. But the case is not similar with guys. For us, our fall-back options aren’t half as good as it is for the girls. We land in a college like Motilal, which is not the best second option.”
Teachers also nod in agreement. Dr Rupali Bhardwaj, a professor at Kamala Nehru College says, “I do not favour the relaxation and the girls aren’t gung-ho either. They treat themselves as equals or better than boys, which they clearly are, in academics. The results of 2008 Boards are proof enough. Girls are far ahead in the race. This relaxation almost feels like a discrimination at the college level.” Agrees Karan Mehta (name changed), “Yes, if girls are considered better than us, why give them the relaxation?”
However, there are a few who assert that the relaxation in marks is important. Yasho Dargar, a JMC student says, “The system needs to be equal. By offering a relaxation, DU is giving those girls who are generally not allowed to take up higher education, or in other cases, girls who are not motivated enough, a chance.” Arushi Sharma, a Gargi student adds, “Convert the all girls’ colleges into co-eds and then provide the relaxation to girls. This way, guys won’t feel discriminated against. Relaxation in marks matters to girls who haven’t scored well but are looking for a chance to do better.”

Talking girl power