Presidency College will scrap admission tests for its undergraduate courses in phases from this academic year.

Students seeking admission to six departments — mathematics, geology, sociology, physiology, Bengali and philosophy —in 2008 will be selected on the basis of their Class XII marks.

The admission tests for the rest of the departments will be abolished gradually, said a college official.

The teachers’ council of the college met on Monday and finalised the proposal to scrap the test to make the admission process more “transparent”. The college authorities approved the proposal on Tuesday.

“A section of teachers has been demanding abolition of the admission test for the past few years. Six departments have accepted the proposal and will implement it from the current academic session,” said the official.

Till last year, the college held tests for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in all 17 departments. During the screening, the authorities gave equal importance to the students’ performance in the test and their marks in the school-leaving examinations.

The college claimed the new system would be more transparent. “Though the board exam marks will be the principal selection criterion, we will also organise personal interviews to have an idea about a student’s aptitude in the subject he/she wants to study,” a teacher said.

The move will also cut the delay in starting first-year classes. “It takes a long time to conduct the admission tests, delaying the academic session,” said a member of the teachers’ council.

Over the past few years, a section of teachers had been questioning the quality of evaluation of the admission test answer scripts.

“Around 2,000 candidates sit for the test in each subject and we are required to complete the evaluation in a week. Working under such pressure, we cannot always do justice to the candidates,” explained a senior teacher.

The Higher Secondary examination also suffers from the same problem, possibly of bigger magnitude as well. In an admission test, a student who is a victim of poor-quality assessment in the HS exam gets a second chance.

Presidency is the only state-run college that still holds admission tests, introduced in 1971. Other state-run colleges — including Lady Brabourne, Bethune and Maulana Azad — admit students on the basis of their school-leaving marks.

“Many reputable institutions in the country do not hold entrance tests. Class XII marks should be the only criterion for admitting students. Besides, it is easier to assess a student’s merit if he/she appears in a personal interview,” said Subrata Lahiri, a retired teacher of Presidency College.

Presidency College will start admitting students in its undergraduate courses in July, after the results of the Higher Secondary and other Class XII board exams are announced.