Jadavpur University will outsource entrance tests for undergraduate arts courses in a bid to boost efficiency and transparency. This comes in the wake of a varsity employee being found guilty of leaking an entrance test question paper last year.

The executive council, the highest policy-making body of JU, decided on Wednesday not to involve the arts departments in the admission process from 2010.

“The university has to hold admission tests since a huge number of students apply for some of the courses. Private agencies will conduct the tests from next year to ensure transparency,” said vice-chancellor P.N. Ghosh.

University officials said the move was prompted by the report of an inquiry committee holding a non-teaching employee responsible for selling photocopies of the BA Sanskrit admission test paper last year. The JU executive committee on Wednesday decided to take disciplinary action against the employee.

According to the outsource plan, private agencies will set admission test question papers along the lines suggested by the university, examine the answer scripts and prepare a merit list. The university will then hold interviews and prepare the final list.

Calcutta University had outsourced admission to the undergraduate law course and postgraduate journalism course a few years ago.

Jadavpur University departments that do not hold entrance tests, including the science departments, will continue to supervise their respective admission processes.