West Bengal to introduce centralised admission to colleges this year

Life will be a lot easier for school-leaving students across West Bengal starting this year.

Life will be a lot easier for school-leaving students across West Bengal starting this year with the State finally set to launch a centralised online admission system that will not only be time-saving but also transparent.

Colleges, at the moment, are busy sending data to the Directorate of Public Instruction, which in February told the colleges about starting the single-window admission process from the coming academic year. The system was to be introduced in 2023 year but it was thought of quite late in the day, when the admissions were about to begin and when institutions were more caught up adopting the National Education Policy, as a result of which the idea was dropped at the last minute.

But this year, the State Government started early. Late in February, the colleges were informed by the directorate that the centralised system was going to be adopted starting this year — the admissions will begin early July — and asked them to submit information such as their intake capacity, subject combinations, and fee structure.

Colleges quickly convened admission committee meetings and by Wednesday, more of them had submitted the required details. Now will begin their interactions with the IT company developing the portal.

Both parents and teachers have welcomed the decision because it will not only save students from the tedious process of applying simultaneously in various colleges — and not knowing for a long time where they will eventually find a seat — but also save the institutions from the pressure of unions that call the shots during admissions.

It was in late April that the State government announced the use of a centralised web-based online admission system for admission at undergraduate level in all colleges/universities run by it. The system was to be initiated last year itself, but the idea was dropped allegedly under pressure from various unions that usually have a say in the admission process. In fact, these unions are said to be behind the single-window system not being adopted so far.

“The system will not only bring about transparency, it will also help students apply for colleges across the State,” Tilak Chatterjee, Principal of Bankim Sardar College, said.