Quota Uncertainty Pulls Brakes on Bengal’s UG Admission Drive

Undergraduate college admissions in West Bengal have been significantly impacted by legal uncertainty surrounding the OBC (Other Backward Classes) reservation policy. At the center of the issue is a recent Calcutta High Court ruling that rolled back a 17% OBC reservation expansion, reverting to the older 7% system in place before 2010. The state government has challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, with a hearing expected this Monday.

Due to the pending court decision, the state education department has extended deadlines for online applications multiple times. The initial deadline was July 1, when 3.2 lakh students had submitted 18.2 lakh applications. Despite additional extensions — July 15 and then July 25 — application numbers increased only marginally. As of July 25, 3.6 lakh students had submitted 20.5 lakh applications. The latest deadline is now July 30.

A sharp decline in application momentum has been observed since the initial rush. Between June 18 (when the portal opened) and the end of June, 16 lakh applications came in from 1.5 lakh students. The following month added only 4.5 lakh more.

Students are now applying for fewer course combinations—often just one or two instead of the earlier trend of seven to ten.

A disclaimer has been added to the application portal indicating that any changes mandated by court decisions will be implemented during the admissions process. Officials suggest many applicants are waiting for legal clarity before proceeding or modifying their submissions.

Education department insiders report that contingency plans are in place. Once the Supreme Court delivers its verdict, the department will Update the portal to reflect the revised reservation percentages, announce fresh timelines for submission of category-related documents, finalize and publish merit lists.

While many colleges await clarity, some institutions such as Jadavpur University and Calcutta University—have moved ahead with admissions based on a 7% OBC quota across 66 sub-categories.

Due to the unresolved OBC quota issue, results of major entrance tests — including the Joint Entrance Examination (held April 27) and Presidency University’s UG admissions — remain pending.