WB govt mulls common PG entrance test

Updated on: Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The now-dissolved Presidency University council's decision to reserve 50% of its postgraduate seats for its own graduates may not hold.

Similar practices by other state universities, too, could be passe. For, the state government is toying with introducing a common entrance examination to fill postgraduate seats in all state universities. When in place, reserved PG seats need not concern graduates of a particular university targeting a masters degree in another state institution. They simply need to crack the exam.

The "archaic" reservation system had created a flutter among students who find it difficult getting admitted to masters courses, as universities reserve a significant percentage of their PG seats for their own graduates. When the Presidency University Council had decided to reserve 50% of its seats for students from its own undergraduate courses, Calcutta University vice-chancellor Suranjan Das had voiced his grievance. He had then said: "Existing universities have reserved post-graduation seats for their own students, which I find archaic. A new and dynamic institute like Presidency University, which is thriving for excellence, should not follow the system. Given an opportunity, I would have preferred to do away with reservation of PG seats in Calcutta University (CU) as well." The mentor group of Presidency University, too, was against reserving PG seats.

Incidentally, 95% of the PG seats in CU is reserved for students graduating from colleges affiliated to it. When introduced, CU had justified this practice on the ground that its strict marking system would place its own graduates at a disadvantage while competing for PG seats with other university graduates who would have higher scores. Hence, reserving PG seats was essential to create a level playing field for CU graduates, it had contended. CU holds admission tests for admission to multi-disciplinary PG courses while seats for the remaining courses are filled on the basis of undergraduate marks.

Higher education minister Bratya Basu has floated the idea of introducing a common entrance examination for admissions to various PG courses in the 14 state universities. "The council is taking an initiative to look into the issue of university quotas for PG admissions in the universities of West Bengal. We are convening a meeting of an expert group to discuss a long-term policy," said president of the state higher education council, Sugato Marjit. Though no decision has yet been finalized on holding an exam, the higher education council is mulling various possibilities to develop a uniform mechanism for admission to all universities.

Among the arguments advanced by the state government in favour of holding a common entrance examination for PG admissions is that everyone should get an equal opportunity to study as public money has been spent on creating infrastructure in the universities. "If one only admits their own students, mediocrity is promoted. The inter-mixing of students of various universities and also from abroad will improve academics," says a senior CU authority.

Like CU, Vidyasagar University too reserves 95% seats for its own graduates. Vidyasagar University vice-chancellor Nanda Dulal Paria, however, pointed out the difficulties in holding the common entrance test: "If the state government decides to hold an admission test to PG courses in various state universities, what will be the syllabus for the test? There is a difference in syllabi between the universities. Moreover, how will the students know the syllabi and prepare themselves for the exam?"

Times of India

WB govt mulls common PG entrance test

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