New Delhi: The Delhi University has decided to increase the number of seats under the sports and the extracurricular activities (ECA) quota, without breaching the 5 per cent cap, in case there is an increase in demand in the said quota at the department level.

The same was applicable to only ECA quota till last year. It has now been extended to the sports quota as well. This decision was taken at a meeting that was held last week.

Colleges have the liberty to decide the increase in the number of seats under the sports and ECA category at its own discretion in case the situation demands to do so.

If seats allocated under the categories in the departments are going to be vacant, the college can transfer the vacant seats to other departments where the demand is more. This way, the college does not violate the 5 per cent cap for intake of students under the two categories.

A varsity official said, “Usually, it is seen that the students in the sports and ECA categories opt for humanities and social science programmes, rather than science, since they feel they may not be able to cope with the pressure in the latter. So, in case there are no admissions under the sports and ECA categories in the Science department, the vacant seats can be transferred to another department where there is a greater demand, but without breaching the total number at the college level.”