Beginning this academic session, seven departments at Presidency University including Chemistry, Statistics, Life Sciences, Economics, Astrophysics, History, and Political Science are moving towards a new admission approach that involves entrance examinations for undergraduate applicants.

To organise this transition, the university has established a group made up of the respective department heads. This team will handle decisions related to exam scheduling, allocation of test centres, preparation of multiple question sets, and evaluation standards. Since such entrance tests are being revived after nearly ten years, careful groundwork is being undertaken, with June being considered as a likely time for the exams.

This shift follows a decision taken earlier this year to end collaboration with the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board. With admissions now being managed internally, some departments opted for their own testing systems, viewing them as a more effective way to assess student merit. The proposed exams are expected to use objective-type questions.

Not all departments are adopting this method. Subjects such as English, Bengali, Hindi, physics, mathematics, geology, geography, performing arts, sociology, and philosophy will continue with a marks-based selection system. Their admission criteria will rely on a weighted calculation using students’ performance in Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations.

Faculty members were allowed to independently choose the admission process suitable for their disciplines, giving departments greater control over how candidates are selected.

The move away from the WBJEE Board comes after concerns were raised by faculty regarding how the admission process was being handled. In mid-2023, teachers communicated their dissatisfaction to Vice-Chancellor Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty. They highlighted that earlier involvement of university faculty in setting exam papers had ensured academic quality, but later changes reduced that role, raising issues related to clarity and efficiency in the system.

The WBJEE Board had been overseeing both undergraduate and postgraduate admissions for the university since 2015. Prior to that arrangement, Presidency University conducted its own entrance examinations independently.