Delhi University promotion criteria raised to 63% for UG students

Delhi University (DU) has increased its promotion criteria for undergraduate (UG) students from 50% to 63%, a decision approved by Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on May 28, 2024. This revised standard is effective immediately across all DU colleges and requires students to achieve a combined total of 63% in their first and second semesters to be eligible for promotion.

The modification also mandates students to earn a minimum of 28 credits to advance to the next academic year, up from the previous requirement of 22 credits. This change aims to address identified shortcomings in rolling out the National Education Policy (NEP) Undergraduate Curriculum Framework (UGCF) 2022.

Rationale Behind the Revised Criteria

DU officials and a committee member who formulated the guidelines indicated that the previous promotion rules, which allowed students to clear 50% of their exams in the first and second semesters combined, were causing issues. Under the NEP-UGCF 2022, a student could potentially be promoted by passing only three papers from both semesters and one general elective with a score as low as 36%, primarily because not all papers carried the same credit weight.

A member of the committee which formulated the guidelines for the promotion criteria stated, “However, because all papers do not have the same credits under the NEP-UGCF 2022, it could happen that a student can get promoted to a subsequent year on passing just three papers of both the semesters and one general elective with only 36 per cent score.” The committee highlighted that this anomaly was “causing loss to the students’ academic growth and defeating the goals set in NEP 2020.”

Committee Recommendations and Approval

A 12-member committee was formed to review the shortcomings of the existing promotion rules. This committee, which included principals from Miranda House, Kirori Mal College, and Lady Shri Ram, along with the Dean, Academics and Controller of Examination (COE), held a meeting on May 7, 2024. The committee recommended that students should complete 50% of the academic requirements to be eligible for promotion.

The recommendations put forth by this committee were next approved by DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on May 28, 2024, leading to the immediate implementation of the new criteria. An official from the varsity noted, “Under the previous passing and promotion rules, a student was eligible for promotion from first year to second year of the course provided he/she cleared 50 per cent of the exams of first and second semesters taken together. The students had to clear seven papers and obtain a total of 22 credits to get promoted.”

Exemptions and Broader Context

While the new criteria are broadly applicable, students representing DU in sports, extracurricular activities, NCC, NSS, and similar activities may be exempt from this requirement. Such exemptions are subject to approval from their respective college’s competent authority. This provision acknowledges the contributions of students in non-academic domains.

Admission to Undergraduate Programs at the University of Delhi for the academic session 2025-26 will be based on scores obtained in CUET (UG) – 2025. Delhi University Admissions 2025–26 commenced on June 17, 2025, with the Bulletin of Information for Undergraduate Programs Academic Session 2025-26 published on March 7, 2025. Candidates are advised to regularly visit the official portal, admission.uod.ac.in, for updates regarding allocations and admissions through CSAS(UG)-2025.

Written by Nishit Kumar

Nishit Kumar is a senior EdTech industry leader with over a decade of experience in building and scaling education platforms, shaping their product, content, and growth strategy. At FindMyCollege, Nishit oversees content and editorial strategy, guiding topic selection and content frameworks to ensure accuracy, relevance, and student-first value across the website.

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