Sale of forms for entrance to English Hons begins on slow note

Updated on: Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Delhi University began sale of forms for the common aptitude test for English through which 21 colleges will admit students for the popular BA (Honours) English course this year.

The sale of forms began on a lukewarm note with 150 to 200 forms being sold on the first day of the 10-day window but officials said they expect the sale to catch up once the CBSE and ICSE results are out.

Prof Sumanyu Satpathy, head of department of English, said almost 12,000 students were likely to appear for CATE this year. Last year a little more than 9,000 students had appeared for the exam.

21 colleges will admit students to BA (Hons) English through CATE this year - up from 17 last year.

Four new colleges - Kirorimal college, Rajdhani college, Vivekananda college and Janki Devi college - have joined the list of colleges that take in students through CATE.

Most other colleges of DU admit students on the basis of their marks while some take independent tests.

"Enquiries from students - both telephonic and personal - have been huge and we are sure the number of students seeking the test will pick up. A large number of forms were not sold on the first day and this is understandable considering the fact that CBSE and ICSE results are yet to be declared," Prof Satpathy told.

He said CATE has helped improve pedagogy in the classroom by making sure only the students who have the right aptitude to study literature make it to the course.

Besides testing whether a student has the aptitude for studying literature, CATE also tests their creative writing skills.

"In our country there is no concept of determining what the student is inclined to study. Ever since CATE has been introduced our teachers have said they noticed an increase in the number of students who have a real liking for the subject," he said.

The forms will be available till May 26 across 21 colleges of the University and the entrance exam will be conducted on June 5.

Sale of forms for entrance to English Hons begins on slow note

More Education news