The year 2025 will not go down well for academics in West Bengal with admissions to colleges run or aided by the State Government still not having ended even though Class 12 results were declared way back in early May.

The State Government will be finally closing the centralised admission portal on October 10, and it has asked colleges to individually fill up vacant seats after that date and complete the whole process by November 7. The delay is unprecedented because as per schedule, the first semester is to begin in July and end in December.

“The undergraduate admission in general degree courses for the academic year 2025-2026 through the centralised admission portal will end on October 10 after the completion of two phases. To fill up the vacant seats (if any) in the institutions, the [State Government] has decided that the admission process after October 10 will be conducted by the individual institution in online, standalone mode. It is advised that the entire process of admission at UG level should be completed positively by November 7,” said a communication issued by the State shortly before Durga Puja began.

Classes, meanwhile, have already begun for students who got admission in the initial phases — classes began in the tail end of August — and, according to teachers, they will have to hold the same classes all over again so that students joining now can catch up with students who were among the first to join.

The constant postponement of the last date for filing of applications, initially set for July 1, was mainly because a new list of communities prepared by the State Government to come under the OBC category was caught in a legal battle, with the Supreme Court deciding in the government’s favour on July 30. Many teachers feel the State should have gone ahead with the admissions anyway instead of pushing back the deadline. Further delay happened because of the heavy rains that waterlogged parts of Bengal late last month and also due to Durga Puja holidays.

“The whole admission process is in a mess. The seats are remaining vacant, even seats belonging to reserved categories. The students stayed at home waiting for admission notification to come but it didn’t even when court did not debar admission. So, most of the students took admission in other States or in private universities. The students from poor households suffered. This staggered admission process till next month will severely affect the teaching-learning process in the classroom. One whole semester will end in this way and course completion will be affected. What is affected in the whole process is classroom education and building up skills for youth. This will not affect the rulers or decision makers who will not live to see the damage, but will severely affect Gen Z and also Gen Alpha, who will be at the mercy of the present students who are debarred from learning,” said Prof. Ishita Mukhopadhyay, a senior professor of economics at the University of Calcutta.

Dr Avijit Mandal, associate professor of Economics at the Sister Nibedita Government General Degree College for Girls in Kolkata, said, “The prolonged uncertainty left thousands of students in a limbo. Some grew so frustrated by the delays that they sought admission in universities outside of West Bengal, resulting in a potential talent drain from the State. Autonomous colleges and more expensive private institutions carried out their admission processes without any hitch. This delay only marginalises underprivileged students.”