In a First, DUSU Sets Up a Foreign Cell For International Students

Apart from the language barrier, international students have complained about delays in admission process, inadequate information about the documents required and the lack of a support system.

Vikram Gopal

Apart from the language barrier, international students have complained about delays in admission process, inadequate information about the documents required and the lack of a support system.

The Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) has, for the first time in DU's history, established an official Foreign Cell to look into problems faced by international students.

Apart from addressing students' grievances, the cell is aimed at developing mutual comprehension, cultural exchanges as well as mural diplomatic understanding in university.

The inauguration ceremony of the cell was attended by Rajya Sabha MP and president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, national joint organising secretary of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad – BJP's student wing – and Afghanistan ambassador Sediqullah Sahar, among others.

"The foreign cell has ample amount of services as well as activities. This includes assistance in admissions, assistances in FSRO registrations as well as organising extracurricular activities," said Akshit Dahiya, DUSU president.

Last year, The Hindu had reported that a lot of international students face several difficulties while applying through the Foreign Students' Registry's (FSR) Office – DU's branch responsible for the admission of international students.

Apart from the language barrier, students complain about delays in admission process, inadequate information about the documents required and the lack of a support system. "The problem of communication between students and the FSR office has been persistent for a long time. My colleagues received their admission notification late and were left with only one week's time to figure out all the logistics of getting to India," Ritesh Tularam, a PhD scholar from Guyana, told The Hindu.

There are some international students' groups, such as the All India Tibetan Students' Association Meet, Nepalese Students' Association etc, which make admission process easier for foreign students. They use social media platforms to send important updates in both English as well as in their respective languages.

Until 2017, foreign students had to physically submit admission forms. However, since 2018, the university has set up an online registration system.

Featured image credit: PTI

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