DU’s job fair guidelines stir row over ‘routine exclusion’ of Open Learning students

Guidelines at a Delhi University (DU) job fair that excluded students of the School of Open Learning (SOL) have triggered protests, with affected students demonstrating throughout the occasion held on campus on Friday (March 20, 2026).

The controversy arose after official guidelines for the job fair specified that “only regular students are eligible”, barring the students of SOL from collaborating within the placements. This led to a protest by scholar teams, together with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Krantikari Yuva Sangathan. The protesting students highlighted that the poster of the job fair specifies that “only regular students are eligible”. Further, guidelines shared by DU faculties said that “SOL students cannot apply for jobs”.