State pushes UG admission deadline to July 25 amid reservation case

The West Bengal higher education department has decided to extend the application deadline for undergraduate admissions by 10 more days, setting the new cut-off date at July 25.

As of Tuesday evening, nearly 20 lakh applications had been received for admission to approximately 460 colleges across the state. This is the second time the timeline has been revised this year.

Officials explained that the extension was necessary in light of ongoing legal proceedings regarding OBC reservations, which are currently under the Supreme Court’s consideration. A government notice referring to a May 22 court ruling about the pre-2010 OBC list was recently uploaded online, signaling the department’s caution while awaiting a final judgment.

A senior official stated that the additional time will help ensure that no eligible student is left out, especially as the reservation policy remains under scrutiny.

The centralized admission system, launched on June 18, was originally meant to conclude on July 16. Instead of reopening the portal repeatedly, the department chose to extend the window to allow all applicants to finalize their submissions.

Education Minister Bratya Basu confirmed the extension on social media, noting that it was done in line with the Chief Minister’s instructions. According to official data, over 3.4 lakh students have registered so far, contributing to nearly 20 lakh individual course applications, including a few thousand from other states.

Despite the high application numbers, college principals expressed concerns over actual enrollment figures. With several universities already wrapping up their admission cycles, they fear some top-performing students might choose to join institutions elsewhere rather than wait for the prolonged state process, which could stretch into September or beyond.