College Street: Calcutta University will decide in two weeks whether it would increase the number of BTech seats reserved for students of the four-year course from 55 to 70 per cent in the next academic year.

The rest of the seats are taken up by science graduates who study three years for the BTech degree. The university is attempting to phase out the three-year BTech course.

The university's engineering admission committee has set itself the two-week deadline because the CU authorities would have to tell the state JEE board by the first week of December the number of first-year BTech seats that would be on offer in 2018.

The three-year BTech students are admitted to the second year of BTech, after clearing a separate test also conducted by the JEE board.

Whether the university can increase four-year BTech seats from next year hinges on the availability of workshop facilities for students.

The engineering dean, Amlan Chakrabarty, said he had asked the university's engineer if a proposed workshop on the CU technology campus at Salt Lake would be finished by the time first-year classes start in August 2018.

If the CU engineer says the workshop, where engineering mechanics and engineering drawing are taught, will be ready, only then will the number of four-year seats will be raised. "The engineer has two weeks to make that call," said Chakrabarty.

Since the Salt Lake campus, where first-year classes are held, does not have a workshop now, students have to travel to the university's Ballygunge Science College campus to avail of the facility.

The Ballygunge campus cannot accommodate more students in the workshop.

"About 165 students now travel from Salt Lake to Ballygunge for lessons in engineering mechanics and engineering drawing twice a week. If we raise the number to 210, there won't be enough space for everyone," said a professor of computer science & engineering at CU.

The long commute, apart from inconveniencing students, left less time for theoretical classes, saida professor of radio physics & electronics.

Another factor is the shortage of full-time teachers. For three years, the university has been relying on guest teachers to make up for the shortfall.

"Recruitment of full-term teachers started only after Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee joined as VC in August. We may not have enough teachers for 210 students before the next session," said a professor.