Jadavpur University will conduct an independent counselling from October 12 to 14 to fill over 150 BTech seats that have remained vacant after the centralised counselling carried out by the state Joint Entrance Examinations Board.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the engineering and technology faculty on Monday. JU will accept online applications from September 25 to October 7.

Metro reported last week that streams such as electrical engineering and electronics — in which seats have remained unclaimed — were once among the most sought after in the country.

Seventeen seats in electrical engineering and 11 seats in electronics are still vacant.

Parthapratim Biswas, the dean of the engineering and technology faculty, said students with JEE ranks up to 10,000 will be called for the independent (decentralised) counselling.

"The counselling will be held physically," said Biswas.

He said students with ranks up to 3,500 in Bengal Joint took admission through the centralised counselling.

An official said that in the independent counselling, JU will admit students down the JEE rank ladder to fill the seats, "and this doesn't augur well for an institute which once held the pole position among the engineering institutions in the country".

"This year, the opening rank in computer science and engineering was 49. Last year, it was 10. In the independent counselling, students with lower rankings will be admitted. The opening rank in electrical engineering this year is 384. This was within 200 last year," the official said.

In 2024, JU held independent counselling to fill 150 of its 1,253 BTech seats left vacant after two rounds of centralised counselling. In 2023, 138 seats remained vacant.

In 2025, JU dropped to 18th among engineering colleges in the national rankings from 12th the previous year.

Its scores suffered in two assessment parameters — graduation outcomes and perception.

According to a JU professor, the university implemented a domicile policy in 2019, hoping that students with high JEE rankings would study there.

"These days, bright students cannot be lured by a domicile policy. A bright student will take admission in an institution that will offer better infrastructure. If they get such an opportunity in an NIT, they will opt for it. Domicile or the opportunity of studying BTech at a mere ₹8,000 will not attract them to JU," said the professor.

"If JU has to attract bright students, it has to improve its infrastructure substantially," he said.