Presidency University teachers have written to the vice-chancellor voicing concern over the delay in the publication of undergraduate admission test results. The tests were conducted by the state JEE board.
“Presidency, which has always attracted among the best minds in the state and country, now risks losing serious applicants to other institutions simply because of procedural delays,” says the July 28 letter signed by Arnab Haldar, the secretary of the Presidency University Teachers’ Association.
“The prolonged delay not only tarnishes the reputation of the university, but will also directly affect the quality of our intake,” says the letter to vice-chancellor Nirmalya Narayan Chakraborty.
The state JEE board has been conducting the undergraduate entrance tests on behalf of Presidency since 2015. This year, the tests were held on June 21 and 22. Earlier, Presidency would conduct the tests independently.
A JEE board official said the results got delayed because the board was awaiting the Supreme Court’s directions on the new OBC reservation matrix.
In their letter to the VC, the teachers have expressed concern over the handling of the undergraduate admissions this year.
“In the initial years, Presidency faculty members were involved in setting question papers, ensuring academic rigour and conceptual accuracy. We had expressed our reservations when the board opted to take over the entire question-setting process. While we acknowledged the logic of expanding access and reach across the state, recent developments marked by inefficiencies and opacity force us to reconsider our arrangement with the JEE board,” they wrote.
Arnab Haldar, a teacher of the chemistry department who signed the letter, said: “Since the board does not involve the Presidency teachers anymore in the question setting, it has led to a deterioration of standards.”
Bivas Chaudhuri, vice-president of the Presidency Alumni Association, said: “If the substandard questions are set, this will lead to substandard students taking admission.”
Presidency, which in its erstwhile avatar as a government college got an A+ in the national ranking system, but it obtained an A as a university.
JEE notice
On Friday evening, the JEE board announced that candidates who wrote the undergraduate admissions test can update their social category details on their application forms from August 3 to 5.
The board’s notice says: “Candidates are hereby notified that they can update their social category details by clicking on the provided link, which will be available on the board’s website on and from August 3. Verification by the Presidency University will be held at the time of admission. Any final decision will be subject to the outcome of final legal proceedings”.
The board will later announce the date when the results will be published.