Students who appeared for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations (WBJEE) this year for undergraduate engineering, technology, architecture, and pharmacy courses in State-run and State-aided universities are facing an uncertain future amidst an indefinite delay in the declaration of results.
“The examination took place on April 27 this year. In other years, we had seen that results were usually declared within six weeks. However, it has been three months since the examination was conducted this year. We have no clue when we can expect results, and when the admission process will begin,” 18-year-old Sparsha Sengupta told The Hindu.
Like many other engineering aspirants in the State, Ms. Sengupta had also appeared for JEE-Mains. Still, she was more focused on preparing for WBJEE examinations because she wanted to enrol in the engineering department in a university in West Bengal, she said. A recent Class 12 graduate of Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, her dream was to study engineering at Jadavpur University.
“Our future relies entirely on WBJEE results. We are growing increasingly anxious and stressed over this prolonged uncertainty about the results and about when we can start college this year. We also fear losing opportunities in parallel counselling processes like JEE, CUET and falling behind students who enrolled in colleges based on other entrance examinations,” she said.
Ms. Sengupta and 169 other worried WBJEE examinees on July 24 started the WBJEE Students Forum. The students claim they have approached the WBJEE Board and the Department of Education multiple times, but to no avail. As most of them opted out of college enrolments through other entrance examinations, they are also worried about having to take a drop year if admissions are indefinitely delayed.
“The situation is extremely tense at home. I got into BSc Physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, but as a family, we had decided not to enrol there because my dream is to study engineering. The admission deadline there passed a few days back. Meanwhile, there is no sign of when WBJEE will publish results, and when admissions will begin,” said Shithan Roy, 17.
He added that the lack of communication from the WBJEE Board on the delay has added to his worries.
“I am wondering if letting go of IIT was the right decision,” he adds.
Professors of State-run universities that admit students based on WBJEE results also expressed apprehensions over losing out on the brightest students, who they fear have enrolled in universities in other States.
President of the Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) Partha Pratim Biswas said that the delay in publishing results is being caused by the matter concerning reservation for OBC candidates, which is being heard by the Supreme Court.
“The best students from this year will most likely take admission in universities outside West Bengal. Losing out on the bright aspirants will have a significant impact on the institute as a whole, including future placements, its research projects, and its postgraduate departments,” Professor Biswas said.
He added that delayed admissions will also have an adverse influence on the incoming batch of students who would start their course with a major backlog as a result of being behind the national calendar. He also expressed apprehensions over whether admissions “will conclude before Christmas” this year.
Professor Biswas also highlighted that deprived and socioeconomically disadvantaged students rely on State-run educational institutes because they cannot afford admission in private colleges.
“Due to the delay in results, the State government and the government-affiliated colleges and universities have not started admissions. But it is surprising to see that many private educational institutions in the State have started their admission process in various ways. Students who are worried about their future are paying massive amounts of money to secure a seat in engineering departments,” JUTA also highlighted in an open letter to guardians of aspirants.
