After date fears, Jadavpur University pushes back English test to July 23

KOLKATA: Jadavpur University on Sunday postponed its English admission examination from July 21 to July 23.

The English examination was scheduled for noon on July 21.




21. After the revised schedule was announced, candidates had expressed apprehension on the choice of date. July 21 plays host to the Trinamool’s showpiece Martyrs’ Day rally, which brings Kolkata to a standstill.

“We had been getting lot of calls from applicants,” said JU registrar Chiranjib Bhattacharjee. “Outstation candidates were seeking overnight accommodation and intended to reach Kolkata on July 20 itself. We are unable to provide so much accommodation. Hence, the date for the English admission examination has been deferred to July 23.”

Despite the flip-flop in the admission procedure in six undergraduate arts departments, the number of applicants this year across the entire arts faculty stands at 15,600. The highest number of applications — 4,713 —are in English. The last date of application was Thursday. Sunday was the last date to submit application fees online.

Since the Bengali admission test is also scheduled on July 23, the English test will be held bwtween 3pm and 5pm, said an official. The Bengali test is scheduled at 12pm.

The revised schedule had been announced by the JU admissions committee on Wednesday. The admission examinations would have started with the weekend English examinations and concluded on July 25.

Incidentally, Sunday was also the day on which Trinamool national secretary Subrata Bakshi carried out the once-a-year ritual to offer khuti puja to the bamboo structure that will be used to make up the dais. “This isn’t a political rally, but an emotional one for Mamata Banerjee. It was on this day in 1993 that her call to establish democratic rights had prompted people to converge on Kolkata from across the state. It is a day when she charts out the agenda for grassroots workers,” Bakshi told reporters.

On Sunday, rallies were held across Kolkata, to canvass support for the July 21rally.

The July 21 rally held at Esplanade sees several lakh Trinamool supporters converging on central Kolkata, clogging arterial roads, Howrah and Sealdah stations. A large number of buses are commissioned to transport supporters, so only a few remain on road that day.

This year, the turnout is expected to be more, amid the realisation that this July 21 rally would be the last before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.