University of Calcutta has decided that its affiliated colleges will be permitted to organise examinations for minor undergraduate papers at their own campuses beginning with the June examination cycle. The move was announced by Vice-Chancellor Ashutosh Ghosh. Minor papers were previously referred to as pass papers for honours students.

The university’s syndicate cleared the proposal at a meeting in mid-February with the objective of increasing the number of teaching days and ensuring quicker publication of results. However, examinations for honours papers will continue to be conducted at external centres under the supervision of the university.

Until now, students were required to appear for minor paper exams at other colleges, and answer scripts were evaluated by faculty members from different institutions. The process involved sending scripts back to the university for redistribution, which extended the academic calendar and reduced classroom time, contributing to delays in declaring results.

Under the revised system, minor paper exams will be held at home centres from June onward. To maintain fairness and accountability, the university’s office of the controller of examinations will deploy teams to monitor both the conduct of the tests and the assessment procedures. University authorities will oversee the entire process.

The upcoming third-semester examinations, scheduled to commence on March 24, will follow the existing external-centre format.

A reduction in effective teaching days has been a growing concern for the university. Earlier this month, undergraduate third-semester examinations had to be postponed after students and faculty indicated that the syllabus could not be completed in time. The exams, initially planned for late February, were deferred by over a month following protests at the College Street campus and support from several principals of government and government-aided colleges.

According to Lady Brabourne College principal Siuli Sarkar, third-semester classes began only in December after the conclusion of second-semester examinations in November, leaving students with limited preparation time.