Many VCs were skeptical about the infrastructure for a centralized process
Many VCs were skeptical about the infrastructure for a centralized process
The West Bengal government has issued a notification reversing its earlier decision to centralize the admission process for undergraduate courses and has opted to continue with the existing system of colleges conducting the process individually. The notification was issued on June 28.
Admissions for undergraduate courses will start from July 18 and for postgraduate courses from September 1.
It was only in the first week of June that the state was headed for centralized admissions, when Education Minister Bratya Basu – who in 2011 had sought to hand the system back to the same portfolio – held a meeting with the vice chancellors (of various state governments). VCs of universities aided by). In the meeting, the colleges were asked to appoint nodal officers who would work in coordination with the education department in conducting the admission process.
But during a subsequent meeting of the V-Cs, many of them are believed to have said that they were not yet ready with the infrastructure for a centralized process, resulting in the postponement of the plan and a notification. Issuing the colleges were asked to conduct online. Personal admission as always.
It was in 2011 that the admission process became online, and in 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19, even the requirement of physical verification of documents and submission of fees was done away with.
“Keeping in view the success achieved in the online admission process, and the fact that the necessary infrastructure has already been established in the higher education institutions of the State, it is hereby informed that all the under -Admissions in graduate (hons and common) and postgraduate courses in state-funded higher education institutions in West Bengal for the upcoming academic session 2022-2023 will be made online in standalone mode,” the notification issued on June 30 said.
Advantages of Centralized System
According to many teachers, a centralized system would have helped students gain access to all colleges from a single window – something that would have particularly benefited students from rural areas. It would also ensure transparency in admissions and prevent student unions from pressurizing or expressing their views on the matter.
A centralized system would have meant less work for colleges, with each college publishing multiple merit lists in succession, a process that lasted two months. This would also mean fewer seats remain vacant in colleges – such vacancies arise when students initially join one college and later move to another.
The state government has directed colleges to complete admissions in undergraduate courses by September 15 and postgraduate courses by October 21.