Delhi University’s colleges have seen an increased interest in BA(Hons) Philosophy this year, with nearly half of the colleges that offer the course seeing seats filling up in the unreserved category in the first list itself, something that did not happen in earlier years. College principals and teachers have attributed the rise in the course’s popularity to lower cut-offs, an increase in interest in the subject due to the uncertain situation prevailing in wake of Covid pandemic and the course being the foundation stone for pursuing other fields like UPSC and law.
Out of 15 colleges that offer the course, seven have filled up their seats for the unreserved category in the first list itself. These not only include prominent colleges like Miranda House, which has also filled up seats for Kashmiri Migrants, ST and OBC categories, Hindu College, Lady Shri Ram but even off-campus ones like Lakshmibai College and Shyama Prasad Mukherji College.
Dr Bijaylakshmi Nanda, the principal of Miranda House said, “Courses like Political Science (Hons) get filled up quite fast at high percentages. BA (Hons) Philosophy is a choice for those students who have slightly less marks, in the range of 95-98 per cent and one can get into a good college. The subject is also picking up and it is one that you can opt for despite not having studied it earlier.”
In a new trend, some private hospitals have started hiring philosophical counsellors for counselling patients and families, he added. Dr Babli Moitra Saraf, the principal of Indraprastha College For Women, said the slightly lower cut-offs could be a reason for the increase in the course’s popularity.
