Evening colleges viable option now

NEW DELHI: The evening colleges of Delhi University are heading towards a new dawn. Long considered the option for underdogs, evening colleges are transforming. They now produce university toppers and gold medalists in sports even when the lack of infrastructure continue to remain a problem.
"The very concept of evening college rests on the premise of optimum realization of space with a special consideration for the working class.But today because of the timing, hardly any working class students can enrol. So why cling on to the 'evening college' tag?" questions Dr Bimlesh Yadav, principal, Sri Aurbindo College (Evening).
She adds: "Bias against the 'evening' tag means we don't get the best students. Yet, we produce university toppers in BCom (hons) and applied psychology (hons) since last three years. Even the cut-off marks in my college have increased in recent years." Last year the cut-off for BCom (hons) went up to 84.5% in Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Evening) and 82% in PGDAV College.
In sports too, the evening colleges are making a mark. "Our football team has won the vice chancellor's trophy thrice in the last couple of years, and as many as eight of our players are in the university team," says Dr Suresh Sharma, principal Moti Lal Nehru College (Evening). The handball team of Sri Aurbindo College (Evening) has won the University Championship six times so far and more than half of the university team consists of players from Sri Aurbindo College (Evening).
Enrolment figures are also bright for evening colleges as more girls seek admission. "Earlier, we would not even have 10% girls. Today almost 40% of our students are girls," says Dr Mani Bhushan, media coordinator, Dyal Singh College (Evening). Dr P K Khurana, principal, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College (Evening) agrees and says: "The gap between the boys and girls in terms of numbers is closing fast and today every third student of our college is a girl."
One reason explains the change in the profile and performance of evening colleges in DU. Dr Khurana says: "The socio-economic profile of the students has undergone a sea change in last few years, which has reshaped the academic as well as extracurricular activities of the college". He adds,"Today, the 'evening' tag is nothing more than a psychological barrier. It's high time the authorities realize the evening colleges have evolved and are ready to take-off, if only they are given proper infrastructure support".
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