Jadavpur University is considering the introduction of its own counselling process for BTech admissions immediately after the announcement of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) results. This plan would allow the university to conduct admissions independently rather than waiting for the centralised counselling organised by the state JEE board.

The initiative aims to attract academically strong candidates who may otherwise accept offers from other institutions due to the time taken for the centralised counselling process to begin.

The proposal was discussed and approved during a meeting of the Faculty Council of Engineering and Technology held last month.

Currently, the state JEE board manages a unified online counselling system for admissions to engineering institutions across the state. This includes state-supported universities such as Jadavpur University and Calcutta University, along with several government and private engineering colleges.

After multiple rounds of the centralised counselling conclude, institutions are permitted to organise their own decentralised counselling sessions to fill seats that remain vacant.

Officials from Jadavpur University have indicated that conducting counselling immediately after the release of JEE results could help avoid delays that often discourage high-ranking students from waiting for admission. Late counselling also affects the academic calendar and postpones the start of classes.

The proposal will be presented to the university’s executive council, which serves as the institution’s highest decision-making authority. If the council approves the plan, the university will then seek formal permission from the state education department.

In recent years, delays in the centralised counselling process have disrupted the academic schedule. For instance, the previous year’s state JEE results were released in August even though the examination took place in April, while the counselling process began only in September.

Due to the delayed admissions, Jadavpur University was able to conduct only the orientation programme for new BTech students before the Durga Puja vacation.

University officials believe that earlier counselling could allow classes to begin sooner and may help the institution secure committed and high-performing students.

The university has also faced challenges filling all available BTech seats through the centralised system in recent years, including seats in some highly sought-after engineering branches.

After the centralised rounds conclude, Jadavpur University usually organises its own counselling to fill remaining vacancies. However, admissions during these later stages often involve candidates with lower ranks, which some officials believe may affect the overall academic standards.

Reports from September 2025 indicated that more than 150 seats out of the university’s total intake of 1,308 BTech seats remained vacant after the centralised counselling process. The university later organised its own counselling session in October to fill the remaining seats.

The vice-chancellor stated that the executive council will examine the proposal for independent counselling. In the previous academic year, the delay in admissions meant that regular classes effectively began only in November.

Some faculty members have pointed out that although earlier counselling may help begin classes sooner, it may not completely prevent students from choosing other institutions.

Many high-ranking candidates from the state JEE still prefer enrolling in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) or National Institutes of Technology (NITs), even when they receive offers for popular branches such as computer science at Jadavpur University.

This preference exists despite the relatively low tuition fees at Jadavpur University, where the four-year engineering programme costs around ₹8,000, significantly lower than fees charged by many other engineering colleges. According to faculty members, one reason is that several NITs currently offer more advanced infrastructure.