Jamia Scraps Interview for Admission to Most Postgraduate Programs

As Jamia Millia Islamia has started with its proceedings for admissions to various courses for the academic year 2013-2014, the most significant change in the admission process this year has been the scrapping of interviews for several programs.

This fact becomes clear from the Admission Prospectus 2013-2014 which lists the dates for all written tests and interviews. But for postgraduate courses, except for those offered by centres like AJK-MCRC, Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution and Centre for Management Studies, interviews have been done away with.

For many students aspiring to be a part of Jamia Millia Islamia, this is a welcome step. “Some students may not be good at speaking out what they know. They may be good at their subject and thus, interview cannot be a fair approach to gauge their capability,” says Rahil, who has applied for a Masters in Psychology.

Another student who has applied for the admission says, “It’s a good thing. Interviews get time consuming. You don’t need to have interviews for all subjects at the Masters level. Even JNU and Delhi University conduct a written test only.”

However, there are some who are not happy with it. “Have you watched the movie Student Of The Year?” asks Basharat Ali, who has applied for an. M.A. in English. “Sometimes, though not always, qualifying a multiple choice type written test can be a matter of pure luck, as they show in this movie. Interviews test your IQ and analytical skills; it’s not just about knowledge. So I feel Jamia shouldn’t have done away with interviews”, he adds.

How do students who already are a part of Jamia and have appeared in the interview at the time of their admission a year or two ago feel about it. Jamia Journal spoke to Beeny Rajput, a Masters student in the Department of Political Science. “There’s no need of an interview at the Masters level, but I strongly feel that the paper pattern of entrance tests at Jamia needs to undergo a change now that the interview part has been curtailed. The focus should be on long-type questions and not multiple choice,” Beeny voiced.

For now the issue is debatable, but only time will tell whether scrapping of interviews out from the admission process is a step in the right direction or not.