Admission freeze in Bengal's state-run colleges leaves students in limbo

Koel Goswami’s dream of becoming an English professor feels increasingly distant as the admission freeze in West Bengal’s state-run colleges casts a long shadow over her future.

A student of Kachua Boalmari High School in Jalpaiguri district, she secured the seventh rank in this year’s West Bengal Higher Secondary (HS) examination, the results of which were announced on May 7.

Also Read: Supreme Court stays Calcutta HC order on West Bengal govt's OBC list

Dreams on hold

"I want to enrol in an English Honours course, but even after more than three months, I am still unsure when I will be able to get admitted to a college. My biggest worry is that if the stalemate continues, I might be forced to sit out a year," she told The Federal over the phone, reflecting the anxieties of countless students across the state.

This uncertainty is rooted in a prolonged legal battle over the state’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) list, which has effectively stalled the undergraduate admission process in all state-run colleges, leaving students like Koel caught in a limbo.

In May last year, the Calcutta High Court scrapped all OBC certificates issued after 2010, citing procedural flaws and the absence of proper surveys. This effectively rolled back OBC reservations in educational institutions from 17 per cent to the pre-2010 level of 7 per cent, affecting over 140 sub-groups that were granted OBC status in the past decade.

Row over OBC reservation

To bypass the court’s objections, the West Bengal government introduced a fresh OBC list earlier this year, retaining the 17 per cent reservation. However, on June 17, amid the ongoing admission season, the court put an interim stay on the new list.

The Supreme Court, on July 28, stayed the Calcutta High Court’s order on the newly notified OBC list, raising hopes for students waiting to get admitted to various colleges. But three weeks later, the admission process across the state still remains in a limbo, as the matter is far from settled.

The apex court will hear the case again on September 9.

Caught in this legal uncertainty are the careers of thousands of students, as educational institutions and examination boards are forced to delay key academic processes.

Also Read: How Bengal is embracing a stronger Bengali identity with policies, protests

Merit list delayed

The state's centralised portal, which manages admissions across hundreds of colleges, has delayed the merit list preparation. As a result, many seats remain unfilled, even though over 3.5 lakh students have applied through the portal.

Some autonomous universities, such as Jadavpur University, have opted not to offer OBC reservations for this year’s admission cycle due to legal ambiguities. Others, like Calcutta University, have paused their in-house subject-wise admissions.

Additionally, over one lakh students who appeared for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) 2025 were affected when the high court ordered a stay on the result, which was scheduled to be released on August 7, due to contempt proceedings.

The court ordered a revised merit list to be released within 15 days. Accordingly, the West Bengal Medical Counselling Committee (WBMCC) released a provisional merit list of 11,178 candidates for MBBS and BDS admissions on August 16, but suspended the entire counselling process indefinitely just two days later.

Private institutions reap benefits

The ongoing delays in undergraduate admissions could force many students away from higher education, warned Anasua Roy Chowdhury, a senior faculty member at Kolkata’s Rammohan College.

While affluent students may opt for private colleges, those from economically weaker backgrounds might not be able to wait much longer, she added.

Chowdhury further warned of a cascading effect on the academic calendar, pointing out that the winter semester schedules may shift well into 2026.

In a scathing assessment of the crisis, Debashis Chakrabarti, a social scientist, condemned the legal gridlock that has paralysed the admission process, labelling the situation “unacceptable.”

Also Read: Mamata, Himanta politically escalate citizenship row, ignoring legal recourse

Students blame government

For the deadlock, many student leaders primarily blame the state government, questioning its sincerity in resolving the issue.

"Over three months have passed since the higher secondary exam results were announced, yet the state higher education department has not published the merit lists for undergraduate admissions. Neither the department nor the education minister has provided a clear explanation for this delay," said Bishwajit Roy, secretary of the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO), West Bengal State Committee.

The government could have allowed the admission process to proceed by leaving the OBC-reserved seats vacant, but it has not done so, he alleged.

"We believe the state government is deliberately halting admissions in government colleges to undermine the public higher education system and allow private and autonomous colleges to rake in huge profits," alleged Arya Dutta, another student leader.

Also Read: Supreme Court stays Calcutta HC order on West Bengal govt's OBC list

Future at risk

State Education Minister Bratya Basu claims that the delay is entirely driven by legal uncertainty.

Despite a Supreme Court directive supportive of result publication, the high court's stay continues to impede the admission process, he said.

Students' careers are turning into collateral damage amid the legal complexities, and the state government cannot absolve itself of responsibility by citing legalities, Chakrabarti added.