To ensure that meritorious students join its courses, Calcutta University (CU) will hold admission tests to all its postgraduate courses.

Under its present system, students are admitted to postgraduate courses on the basis of marks obtained by them when they graduate.

The new system of entry tests is likely to be introduced from the academic session scheduled to begin in August.

Announcing the university?s entry test plans at its annual convocation on Monday, Asis Kumar Banerjee, vice-chancellor, declared that after St Xavier?s College, more university affiliates will be granted autonomous status.

The move to conduct entry tests follows the granting of autonomous status to the university?s affiliates. The autonomous colleges will produce a new category of graduates, because these institutions will enjoy, among many other powers, the freedom to conduct their own undergraduate and postgraduate examinations.

A sizeable number of students, after graduating from the autonomous colleges, are expected to seek admission to the CU?s postgraduate courses.

According to the vice-chancellor, CU?s move to conduct the entry tests at the master?s level is being initiated to ensure screening of admission-seekers from all categories of colleges in a ?transparent? manner.

?How will the university compare the graduates of autonomous colleges with those of our other affiliated institutions, or say, even with those coming from the different autonomous colleges when it comes to selecting students to our postgraduate courses?? Banerjee asked.

University officers said now that top-ranking colleges are being given the powers to run their courses independently, it has become ?extremely? important to have ?only meritorious and high-performing students in the university?s postgraduate courses?.

After St Xavier?s and Presidency, other quality colleges like Lady Brabourne, Bethune, Loreto and Maulana Azad are likely to be granted autonomy. ?In such a situation, screening of students before admitting them to our postgraduate courses will be necessary,? the officers said.