Bengal mulls uniform univ norms for UG admissions after WBCAP review

Kolkata: The state Higher Education Department has begun deliberations on standardising university-level rules governing undergraduate admissions and has constituted an expert committee to examine the feasibility of introducing greater homogeneity across universities, officials said.

The move follows a review of the 2025–26 admission cycle conducted through the West Bengal Centralised Admission Portal (WBCAP), which handles admissions to 7,229 undergraduate programmes across 17 universities and 460 government and government-aided colleges.

Although students were permitted to apply for up to 25 courses through the portal, officials said wide variations in eligibility norms across universities, colleges and courses have created operational difficulties in a centralised system. Differences in age limits, permissible gaps since passing the Higher Secondary examination and subject combinations often curtail students’ options despite a common application platform.

Department officials said these inconsistencies have led to cases where candidates eligible for admission in one university were automatically excluded from consideration for similar courses in another. One official cited the example of a student who passed the Higher Secondary examination in 2021. While the candidate remained eligible for universities allowing a five-year gap, applications to institutions restricting eligibility to those who passed within the last two or three years were rejected by the system. “Academically, the student may be suitable, but varying institutional rules result in lost opportunities,” the official said.

Officials explained that universities frame their own admission norms, which affiliated colleges are required to follow, resulting in a cascading lack of uniformity at the college level. “If a degree of homogeneity is achieved at the university level, it will automatically reflect among affiliated colleges,” a senior official said.

The expert committee has already held an initial meeting and is expected to continue deliberations, including consultations with vice-chancellors. The department is also examining whether limited standardisation can be introduced at the college level after broader alignment among universities.