CU gets first PG calendar, profs hope for uniformity
Times of India | 19 April 2026
Kolkata: Calcutta University syndicate, the highest decision-making body, has approved a new postgraduate academic calendar—July to June—aligning it with the national academic schedule. The new schedule will be implemented from the upcoming session.
CU has never had an academic calendar for PG courses, as a result of which there has been no structured beginning of an academic session or exam schedule. To address this problem, CU formed a committee that prepared the calendar, earmarking major dates, such as the start of a session, exam timetables and the date for the end of each semester. The new calendar specifies that all PG classes will begin in July, the first semester will end in Dec, and the next semesters' classes will be held between Jan and June. Tentative exam dates have been fixed, indicating that all PG departments on CU campuses as well as in affiliated colleges will start and end sessions at a specific time.
In the absence of a calendar so far, an academic session would always start late in CU PG departments, said a teacher, pointing out that the beginning of first-semester PG classes would usually depend on the decisions of boards of studies of respective departments, leading to a disparity among subjects.
A CU official said, "We had an academic calendar for undergraduate courses, but none for PG. From the new academic session, students will be offered multiple PG programmes, for which we need to follow a certain calendar."
University professors welcomed the decision. Sanatan Chottopadhyay, president of Calcutta University Teachers' Association, said, "Uniform academic practices is our long-standing demand. We thank the authorities that we can implement it. It will improve the quality of the academic process." Siuli Sarkar, principal of Lady Brabourne College, which runs 10 PG courses, said, "With a PG calendar in place, we don't have to depend on subject-specific board of studies to start academic practices. The structured schedule will help students."
Several professors pointed out that in the absence of a calendar PG admissions continued till Dec though a parity with the national level demanded the completion of the first semester by then. They also said there was no uniformity in holding first-semester exams, with one department conducting them in March and another in April. A science faculty member said, "We cannot refuse students admissions because filling seats is important. But admissions running up to Dec hampers the academic process as a student needs at least three months' classes to take first-semester exams. This delays the schedule."
CU has also decided to hold PG entrance tests in May, before the UG sixth-semester results are announced.