From surge to slump: Confusion over OBC quota causes dip in number of applications for UG courses in Bengal; students await court verdict
Times of India | 28 July 2025
KOLKATA: Uncertainty over the OBC quota, which prompted multiple deadline extensions for online undergraduate course applications, has led to fewer applications by students.
On Monday, the Supreme Court is expected to hear the Bengal govt's challenge to the Calcutta HC's OBC order scrapping the fresh 17% OBC list and nudging it back to the pre-2010 format which allowed for only 7% OBC reservations.
The SC hearing outcome will largely define how the state education department wraps up the long-pending UG admissions to meet the Aug deadline to start classes for the 2025-26 admission session.
The online UG applications were initially scheduled to end on July 1. At that point, 3.2 lakh candidates had submitted 18.2 lakh applications. The next deadline was on July 15. On that day, total applications stood at 20 lakh. The number of candidates had only increased by 22,952 to 3.4 lakh. On July 25, the third cut-off date, 20.5 lakh applications had been received from 3.6 lakh candidates. The deadline now is July 30.
The slow-paced admission applications in July, however, is a complete change from the 16 lakh applications received from 1.5 lakh candidates within a week of admission portal going live on June 18. In the past month, therefore, only 4 lakh more applications have been received.
Department officials said they have noticed that students had been making 7-10 subject combination choices before. Now students are making only one or two choices.
The admission portal now has a disclaimer that subsequent court orders will be factored in the admission process. "The number of applications has dropped since then as many decided to modify later," the official said. 'CAP to give clearer pic after court order' Sources said dept officials who are part of these UG admissions held a series of meetings and alternative plans are ready. A senior official said, "We are quite hopeful that on Monday, we will get a verdict regarding OBC reservation and clarity on OBC communities who are eligible to apply. Steps will be taken immediately after this decision.
" Officials said after the court order, the portal will also spell out a clearer picture of reservation percentages. Dates will be declared for students to submit their category-wise details as mentioned and displayed on the portal. Subsequently, merit lists will be prepared and displayed. Jadavpur University and Calcutta University have already initiated admissions with 7% OBC reservation cut-off for 66 OBC sub-group communities. The joint entrance examination was held on April 27, and three months later, results are pending due to this issue. Presidency University's UG entrance test results are also pending for the same reason.