Calcutta, Jan. 13: The government is considering a proposal to abolish the system of reserving 95 per cent university seats for students of colleges under it to widen access to subjects taught exclusively by one institution.

Some subjects, such as marine biology and radio physics in Calcutta University or Himalayan studies and tea technology in North Bengal, are not taught anywhere else and the reservation virtually shuts out students from other universities.

“Most universities offer some unique courses depending on their infrastructure, faculty position and geographical location. The government feels students from all over the state should have an equal opportunity to study them,” said an education department official.

Universities in south Bengal will find it difficult to introduce Himalayan studies and tea technology courses for geographical reasons. “But students from south Bengal should have the opportunity to pursue these subjects,” he added.

Only Jadavpur teaches comparative literature and Burdwan microwave technology. Geo-informatics is taught only in Vidyasagar University.

However, the higher education council’s proposal says the reservation can be retained in subjects that are taught by most universities.

“We are discussing the proposal,” said Dipak Bhattacharya, member secretary of the West Bengal Council for Higher Education. “We need to take the opinion of all vice-chancellors,” he added.