Calcutta University proposes to raise the number of seats in its new four-year BTech programme by five per cent in the next academic session as part of a strategy to phase out the three-year course for which only graduates are eligible.

For the current academic year, 143 out of the 300 seats spread across eight departments on the Rajabazar Science College campus were filled through the state joint entrance examination with plus-two as the minimum qualification.

Calcutta University didn't have a four-year programme until 2015-16, taking in science graduates on the basis of their BSc scores rather than an entrance test.

According to a resolution adopted at a meeting of the engineering admissions committee last month, 165 out of 300 seats for the academic session 2016-17 would be filled through the state JEE.

The resolution has been sent to the CU syndicate for approval. "Once the syndicate endorses the proposal, we will inform the JEE board about our decision to admit more students through the test from next year," dean of engineering Nikhil Ranjan Das said.

All eight departments - computer science and engineering, information technology, radio physics and electronics, chemical engineering, chemical technology, polymer science and technology, applied physics and applied optics and photonics - currently offer BTech degrees.

A university official said seats in each department would be increased. "Although we have some shortcomings in terms of laboratories and staff strength for the four-year BTech programme, we are making the switch to meet the demands of the market," said a member of the engineering admissions committee.

Many companies used to recruit BTech graduates from CU's three-year programme for their research and development wings because they were considered better than students from other institutes. The programme also used to be known for the quality of science graduates coming in.

"Over the years, the three-year course has lost its lustre with the brighter students opting for a four-year programme because of the better job prospects it promises," said Sankhayan Choudhury, a professor of computer science and engineering.

Until the meeting in November, the buzz was that the proportion of seats filled through JEE would be maintained for two more years.

But the admissions committee felt that a programme that no longed attracted the best students should be phased out sooner.

A university official said all BTech seats weren't being filled through JEE immediately because some students might have already enrolled for BSc courses with an eye on the three-year BTech programme.