West Bengal’s College Admission Portal Closes; Major Drop in Applications Ahead of Aug 7 Merit List

Merit List 2025

The Centralised Admission Portal (CAP) for undergraduate college admissions in West Bengal officially closed on July 30, with the merit list now slated for release on August 7.

This year’s admission cycle has seen a sharp decline in both student participation and total applications. According to the state’s higher education department, roughly 3.6 lakh students registered on the portal, submitting over 20 lakh applications — a significant drop from last year’s 5.3 lakh students and 35 lakh applications. Notably, 4,311 applicants hailed from outside the state.

The decrease appears to be tied to a 45% fall in the number of students passing the West Bengal Class XII board exams — from 7.8 lakh last year to just 4.3 lakh this year. Legal uncertainty surrounding OBC reservation policies also added to the delay and confusion in the admission process.

CAP was live for a longer time this year — from June 17 to July 30 — compared to last year’s June 24 to July 7 window. Yet the extended period failed to reverse the downturn in numbers. Officials attribute this partly to the delayed resolution of OBC-related legal disputes, which kept students unsure about available seats and categories.

The Supreme Court’s recent verdict has now cleared the path for finalizing the merit list. The updated OBC list for 2025 recognizes 76 communities under the OBC-A and B categories, an increase from 64 in the 2010 list. As a result, reservation for OBCs will jump from 7% (pre-2010) to 17% in 2025.

Students are currently being allowed to revise their applications, including adding category or caste details. A government official confirmed that final merit lists will be prepared only after all submissions are complete and verified.

In parallel, the West Bengal School Service Commission will open a separate portal from August 5 to 11 to let candidates update their OBC status for recruitment-related purposes.

College principals across the state have received fresh instructions from the higher education department. These include verifying all student-submitted data, ensuring correct application of the subject- and category-wise merit formulas, and properly using tie-breaker rules as defined by the department.

With a tight schedule ahead, officials have urged institutions to be especially vigilant during the merit list preparation process.