Admissions to undergraduate courses in West Bengal colleges will begin on August 10, and, for the first time, the entire process will be conducted online because of the COVID-19 situation.
A notification to this effect has been issued by the State government. Even though parts of the admission procedure had gone online since 2015, this year the physical presence of the student would not be required at any stage while applying for a seat in a college.
Based on merit
“Online admission process should be done based on merit. Prospective students should not be called for counselling or verification of documents during the process of admission. No physical presence will be required at the college/university,” said the notification, issued on Thursday.
“Eligible applicants should be informed directly by the college authorities through letter of email or telecommunication. Payment of fees should be done only through e-payment or designated banks and not physically at the colleges. List of eligible candidates should be handed over to the designated bank branches for verification during payment through banks. Banks will receive admission fees on the basis of merit list,” it said.
“All testimonials are required to be uploaded online during application. Verification of documents, if required, should be done only when the students report for the classes in due course,” it further said, adding that admission would be cancelled if the documents did not match at the time.
Prevents crowding
Many teachers feel that going completely online would not only prevent crowding in institutions but would also likely eliminate the interference in the admission process of student leaders owing allegiance to various political parties.
The State government clarified that the advisory did not apply for admissions to the post-graduate level, for which, it said, a separate notification was being issued. If a similar notification for the PG level is issued in the coming days, then it would become clear that West Bengal has chosen to ignore the University Grants Commission and go ahead with the academic year as scheduled without holding exams for final year/terminal semester students, as directed by the Central body.
