Calcutta, April 7: Science graduates with honours can now enter a bachelor of engineering (BE) course directly in the second year if they clear a test.

The engineering college doors will, however, be open only to those with mathematics at the undergraduate level.

The new move by the state board for joint entrance examinations (JEE) will make the competition tougher for engineering diploma holders, who were the only ones earlier eligible to take the test for second-year entry into engineering colleges.

BSc honours degree holders would be allowed to take the special entrance test held by the board this year itself.

“Science graduates who want BE course admission through the lateral entry test will have to study mathematics as one of the elective subjects at the graduation level,” said Siddhartha Dutta, the chairman of the joint entrance board. “We will soon announce other criteria that they need to fulfil.”

Admissions to BE first year are held through the state joint entrance exams. Students who pass the Class XII board exams in science stream are eligible for appearing in the JEE.

The JEE board had introduced the system of allowing diploma engineers to seek admissions to second year BE courses many years ago.

Diploma courses in engineering are taught in polytechnic colleges. Admissions to the polytechnic colleges are held through a separate entrance examination conducted by the JEE board.

Students clearing Madhyamik and equivalent exams are eligible to appear in the JEE for polytechnic admission.

The All India Council for Technical Education, the regulatory body for engineering education, had written to the state board asking it to allow science graduates to seek admission to second year BE courses, an official said.

Dutta said 10 per cent of the seats in engineering will be reserved for students coming through lateral entry.

The 70-odd engineering institutions in Bengal have nearly 17,000 seats. Many students aspiring to pursue engineering education join BSc courses when they fail to find a rank in the JEE merit list. “Many of these students ignore their BSc studies and appear in the joint entrance examinations over and over again. The new decision will enable this group to concentrate more on their honours papers,” said a college teacher in Calcutta.