West Bengal: Centralised admissions to bring ease, transparency

KOLKATA: The switch to the centralised admission system to government and government-aided colleges and universities will help resolve a lot of issues hindering the entrance process to undergraduate courses and will introduce transparency, said principals and vice-chancellors. Since the admissions will be conducted through a single portal launched by the education department - and not via the previous system of colleges accepting applications individually - the problem of vacancy will be minimised.
It will also make the entire admission system time-bound and free up resources to focus on academic activities and prepare for various rankings.
On Thursday, after a meeting between minister Bratya Basu and VCs, the education department announced the roll-out of the centralised system. Jadavpur University and Rabindra Bharati University's departments of fine arts and visual arts have been kept out of the ambit of the system. Other autonomous institutes, like Presidency University, St Xavier's College and Ramakrishna Mission College,s have been given the choice to either opt in or conduct admissions on their own. The system will start from the academic session 2022-23.
"The centralised system will help resolve the issue of vacant seats as dates to apply, fill out applications and publication of merit lists will remain the same. Several colleges face a problem when students take admission in another university or college later. This will be solved under the new system," said Asok Mukhopadhyay, principal of Seth Anandram Jaipuria College.
Suranjan Das, vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University, said, "This system will make admissions more professional, time-bound and transparent. Students from anywhere in the state will be able to apply through one portal."
"Under the new system, admissions to all colleges will happen simultaneously. So, the probability of seats going to waste will be low," said Siuli Sarkar, principal of Lady Brabourne College.
Before the pandemic, applicants would have to pay to pay a fee to fill up admission forms of each college. The government has not specified the fees to be paid for application under the new system, but candidates will have to pay it only once. "The new system will reduce the financial burden," said an education department official.
The principal of a north Kolkata college said unions and local politicians will also not be able to meddle with the admission system now.