Partha announces extension of CU admission deadline to August 20 in bid to fill up vacant seats

Kolkata: State Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Tuesday announced extension of dates for students' admission in some of the affiliated colleges of Calcutta University, where seats are lying vacant. The deadline for admission has been extended till August 20.

"Wherever there are vacant seats, be it in pass or degree courses, the admission process will continue till August 20. The secretary of the undergraduate (UG) council at CU has been directed to send necessary instructions to the concerned colleges," Chatterjee said, after attending the 103rd foundation day celebration of Asutosh College in Hazra.

He reiterated that admission will be strictly on the basis of merit and students have to pay the requisite fees to the bank accounts of the colleges in which they are seeking admission. According to sources, Chatterjee held a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the status of vacant seats in colleges.

It may be mentioned that out of 1.3 lakh seats in various CU affiliated colleges, around 40,000 are still lying vacant. The earlier deadline for admission was July 10 and the university found that seats were lying vacant at Surendranath College, Jaipuria College, South City College, Dinabandhu Andrews College, Sris Chandra college, North City College and Seth Surjamal Jalan College to name a few. The colleges had already written to CU, urging it to extend the dates for admission.

Prodded by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state Higher Education department has instructed all colleges in the state to admit students through the online mode, so that they no longer need to turn up physically for the purpose.

The police also cracked the whip and arrested a number of people, including students, for being involved in extorting money to grant admission.

Chatterjee in the past had often been vocal about the tendency among students in crowding a handful of educational institutions in the state. He had warned the colleges of strong action if they admit students beyond their intake capacity.

Asked about his response to the reintroduction of admission tests in Jadavpur University, Chatterjee said, "It (JU) is an autonomous institution. The government won't interfere in its functioning."

JU had recently witnessed a hunger strike by students in protest against the decision of the authorities to scrap admission test in six Humanities subjects. A section of teachers had also lent support to the students. The university finally yielded to the pressure and reintroduced entrance tests for the 6 subjects last week.