College principals push CU for more class days; proposal to be taken up at syndicate meet today
Telegraph | 17 April 2026
Several college principals have told Calcutta University that undergraduate students will struggle to write their exams unless they have at least three months of classes in each semester.
They said the number of class days has fallen to 40 to 45 per semester because of “too many unplanned breaks”, and have urged CU to adopt an academic calendar mandating at least 90 class days.
The principals also proposed that classes for the next semester begin within a week of the completion of the previous semester’s exams.
The issue was raised with CU’s inspector of colleges and the undergraduate council secretary during an online meeting earlier this week.
Lady Brabourne College principal Siuli Sarkar said the VC had indicated in November that class days needed to be increased substantially by reducing holidays. “Accordingly, we have proposed an academic calendar that makes at least 90 class days mandatory in a semester,” Sarkar said.
In February, the university deferred its third-semester exams after some undergraduate students protested on the College Street campus, alleging their syllabus was incomplete due to inadequate classes.
VC Ashutosh Ghosh said the principals’ proposal would be taken up at the syndicate meeting scheduled for April 17. “The next course of action will be decided based on what the syndicate decides.”
Under the proposed academic calendar, first-semester classes would run from July 7 to December 20, with 112 class days after accounting for the Puja break, Sundays, government holidays and exam leave. The second semester would run from January 17 to May 14, with 91 class days. The class days for the remaining semesters have also been worked out.
New Alipore College principal Joydeep Sarangi said the number of class days had dropped because theory classes could not be held due to practical exams. “We have proposed merging the schedule of practical and theory papers.”
Managing the exam schedule would be key to increasing teaching days, principals said.
A CU official said the meeting also discussed whether the Puja holidays could be curtailed further to increase class days. At present, the Puja break lasts four weeks.