New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University’s admission process is facing a legal challenge in Delhi High Court because of its use of deprivation points.Students aspiring to study in JNU have to appear for the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The deprivation scores are added to the CUET score.So, what is the deprivation score system? Why does JNU have it? How does it change the merit list? This explainer attempts to answer these questions.What are deprivation points?The deprivation points are additional scores given to students who hail from some of India’s more backward districts. Whatever a student scores in the exam, if she is from a deprived district, the points are added to the exam score.How are the points calculated?For the deprivation point system, JNU has two categories, called Quartile 1 and 2. Quartile 1 has the most disadvantaged districts of the country, and students from here get the highest deprivation points. Quartile 2 has districts that are not as poorly off as those in Quartile 1. Quartile 2 students also get some deprivation points, although not as high as 1. There are also districts that fall in neither quartile. Students from there do not get deprivation points.JNU has identified 313 districts for deprivation points — 160 districts in Q1 and 153 in Q2 — using the 2011 census data. Since then, this list has not been updated.There were four indicators that JNU looked into when these 313 districts were put on the deprivation list — the percentage of female illiteracy in the district, percentage of agricultural workers, percentage of rural population, and percentage of households without a latrine on the premises. These indicators seek to capture educational, occupational, geographical and basic living-condition disadvantages of a student.A student from a Quartile 1 district can get a maximum of 12 points based on these indicators. In CUET, this deprivation score means a conversion to 36 additional marks, which can alter the merit list decisively.How large is the system and which states stand to gain?Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of districts — 52 — on the deprivation list, followed by Madhya Pradesh (43), and Bihar (36).The deprivation point system is used in UG, PG, Certificate of Proficiency (COP) and Advanced Diploma of Proficiency (ADOP) programmes, subject to programme-specific exclusions.Why does JNU have it?Merit is not produced under identical circumstances, so the points attempt to compensate a student for structural disadvantages. At the heart of the point system is the acceptance that students do not begin any race from the same starting line. The model dates back to the early 1970s.What does the point system mean in practice?Take the example of Sharad Kumar, the Paralympic high-jumper who won a bronze at the Tokyo Games 2020. Kumar grew up in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district and completed his MA in international politics in JNU. Muzaffarpur is classified as a Quartile 1 district, which attracts the highest deprivation weightage. The question to ponder is could a student like Kumar have been at a relative disadvantage if this policy was not in place?Why is it controversial now?Amit Mehra, a postgraduate aspirant, has challenged the point system in the high court. If two candidates obtain the same CUET score, why should one get additional marks because of the district in which s/he studied, he has asked. The court is hearing the matter.For now, JNU can continue using the point system, but the admissions remain subject to the final judgment.
