Admission pause: Brain drain risk for state, anxiety for those who stay back
Times of India | 8 August 2025
Kolkata: The anxious wait for students aspiring to study engineering or general degree courses in Bengal continued as WBJEE results and college merit lists remained mired in legal tangle. Frustrated by the inordinate delay, those who have the means have already moved to other states or taken admission to private colleges.
Students who are still waiting to study at engineering institutes in Bengal, like JU or CU, are in a dilemma. "I want to study engineering at JU. But I also have the option of participating in the IIEST counselling process and I will not give it a pass," said engineering aspirant Sparsha Sengupta.
Parents are equally worried. Debraj Kundu said his son was disappointed on learning on Thursday that it could take another fortnight for the JEE result to be published. "Though I have paid his admission fee for BITS Pilani, he is keen on studying here and doesn't want to leave. He also appeared for IIEST counselling and may get a mechanical engineering seat," said Kundu. "My son wants to study at JU but he may have to forgo his dream institute.
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Archismita Chakraborty has already given BITS Pilani a pass and now, WBJEE is her only option this session. "After WBJEE uploaded the answer key, I calculated my score. I can get admission at JU. But I am too frustrated with this procedure and may not continue even after getting a chance to study there as I can't keep faith in the system in my state. I may drop out this year and prepare for JEE Mains next year," she said. Arshee Ghosh, too, has opted out of other options to stay back in Bengal. "Even after the result is out, it will take at least a month to finish admissions. I did not take the other options as I wanted to stay in Bengal," she added.
While these students are waiting for WBJEE result, their friends who moved to other states have started their classes. Engineering professors are also apprehensive about losing quality students amid the delay. A computer science engineering professor, Sankhayan Choudhury, said, "Owing to a delayed start to classes, we will fail to maintain parity with the academic calendar of other institutes. So these students will suffer and face challenges to make up for the loss of time.
"The WBJEEB, which held the entrance tests at Presidency University, was supposed to publish lists on Aug 9 but even that date turned uncertain after the court order.
The merit list for centralised admission portal was to be published on Thursday though higher education department officials said they would take some more time. An official said, "The process is underway, and it will be published soon. We will take legal opinion before publishing the list.
" Students said they had to face the consequences. UG candidate Rishabh Banerjee said, "We have been sitting idle for months. It is frustrating when I see some of my batchmates starting classes at private colleges or outside the state. Students are the worst sufferers.
" (Input from Dipawali Mitra)
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