Jadavpur University has decided to discontinue its self-financed mass communication programme, citing an alleged lack of sufficient applicants, even though it had accepted applications until early December.

The one-year diploma in mass communication had 50 seats, and 60 students had applied, the head of the department said.

"Usually, about half the applicants finally take admission, so seats would have remained vacant. With fewer than the required number of seats getting filled up, it would not have been feasible for JU to run the programme," said Parthasarathi Chakraborty, the departmental head.

"If we do not earn enough, how will the university pay the honorarium to guest teachers and maintain the infrastructure?" he said.

The course fee for the evening programme, introduced in 1989 is ₹20,000.

The university has decided to refund the application fees to those who had applied this year.

A prospective student said the university was not sincere enough about carrying on with the programme. "Why did the university receive application forms in the first place?" he asked.

"This is like toying with the future of prospective students. Refunding application fees is not enough. Announcing that the programme is being discontinued after receiving application forms amounts to harassment," the student said.

An admission test was scheduled to be held on December 13.

JU vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said, "The department has taken this decision through its board of studies. The main reason behind this is that the number of takers for this course was declining. The self-financed programme could not be sustained."

"Maybe students are more interested in pursuing a master's than a diploma", he added.

The university runs a master's programme in mass communications.

The head of the department said the number of students taking admission to the MA programme, where two teachers last year had been showcaused on charges of not evaluating the scripts, was also on the decline.

A teacher said that when they started the diploma in mass communication, there were 140 seats.

Then gradually the seat count came down to 82. Last year, only 52 students took admission.

"This year, half the seats would remain vacant. A self-financed programme can not be run like this," said the head of the department.

A JU official said that the state government, in its education policy unveiled in April 2023 to counter the National Education Policy 2020, had said students pursuing self-financed courses could provide another steady stream of funds for higher education institutions.

"Students shall be willing to bear the financial burden of a course, partly or fully, if they perceive that their employability will significantly improve by completing the course,” the policy mentions.

The JU official said: "But JU, encountering funds constraint owing to lack of contributions from the state government and the Union government, has shut a self-financed programme."