KOLKATA: The state education department on Thursday announced the rollout of centralised college admissions across state-run universities and colleges, with a few exceptions, to be implemented from the forthcoming admission season, after Class XII board results are declared.
Jadavpur University (JU) has, however, been kept out of the centralised admission process. The university shall be free to admit students through its own admission tests (like it does in most arts subjects), or through merit lists (as has been its practice for the science streams). Rabindra Bharati University’s fine arts and visual arts departments, too, have been kept out. Presidency University and St Xavier’s, and other autonomous colleges governed by various universities have been given time to decide whether they want to opt in or stay out.
The decision to shift from the decades-old practice of individualised tests to a centralised one was taken at a meeting between education minister Bratya Basu and vice-chancellors of state-aided universities on Thursday. The new system — originally mooted by Basu as education minister in 2011 — promises to usher in greater transparency and fairness by weeding out the persistent issue of student bodies’ meddling in the admission process.
Council to launch admission portal
VCs and principals welcomed the decision to centralise admissions. Under the new system, colleges and universities — apart from the few exceptions — will not issue forms individually and invite applications. Instead, an admission portal will be launched by the West Bengal State Council for Higher Education, which will manage the entire process.
Under the new system, students would be required to submit their marks and apply for admission to as many colleges as they want. The portal will then prepare a merit list. After the first round of counselling, those on the waiting list would advance to the second merit list. “Primarily, it has been decided to conduct two stages of counselling. After counselling, the universities will conduct the admission procedure,” the source added.
Basu said all VCs felt it would bring more clarity and transparency. “We discussed the issue in detail with the VCs. They agreed to it. We are sure that we will start the new mechanism this year,” Basu said.
Education secretary Manish Jain was also present at Thursday’s meeting, attended by around 20 VCs. Though JU will not figure in the process, its VC, Suranjan Das, who represents all VCs, spoke after the meeting. “Students will benefit with this mechanism as they would not need to rush from one college to another. According to the cut-offs, they will know the secured seat and systematically get admission. This system will bring more clarity,” Das said.
Principals of several colleges in Kolkata welcomed the change as well. “This is a very good decision by the government, one that will benefit all stakeholders,” said Brabourne College principal Siuli Sarkar. “This is the right time to shift to the new system,” said Asok Mukhopadhyay, principal of Seth Anandram Jaipuria College.
