<p>Electrical engineering associate professor and EC member Arindam Sil said, — Electrical engineering associate professor and EC member Arindam Sil said, “Due to the delayed beginning of classes, there is immense academic load on the students, often leading to backlog”

Kolkata: Jadavpur University will conduct independent BTech counselling after the JEE results are published from this academic season to attract bright students and minimise administrative delays, the Executive Council (EC), the highest decision-making body of JU, decided on Sunday. A source said a letter was also sent to the education department seeking permission.

JU, which topped NIRF ranking for state universities but finished 18th among engineering institutes, appears to have again lost out on the best minds, with students who ranked high in WBJEE opting for other engineering institutes like IITs and NITs. In all 16 engineering departments, there was a slide in the ranking of students seeking admission this year compared to those who took admission last year. After two rounds of centralised counselling by the state JEE board, there were around 150 seats vacant this year out of 1,308 BTech seats.

Former engineering faculty dean and elected teacher representative to the EC and court Partha Pratim Biswas said, “The decision was taken to reduce delayed admissions and secure admission of bright students. Our procedure will honour the merit list and the criteria of the JEE Board, meaning, we will prioritise students from the state. But to expedite things, we will handle the counselling process ourselves. The JEE board usually starts its centralised counselling late, and students who would normally come to JU move to NITs, IITs and other private engineering colleges instead. Our academic calendar suffers as the new session starts three months late. The university’s branding and employment scenario is affected if it loses out on good students.”Electrical engineering associate professor and EC member Arindam Sil said, “Due to the delayed beginning of classes, there is immense academic load on the students, often leading to backlog.”

Though all EC members agreed to the proposal of independent counselling, the state govt nominee to the EC, who is also chairman of the state JEE board, Goutam Pal, gave a note of dissent. “The JEE counselling was delayed last year due to OBC-related legal complications. The board had no role in the delay. Moreover, if a university wants to conduct independent counselling, it has to follow a proper procedure. The JEE board act will have to undergo change.”

Physics professor Partha Pratim Ray, an elected teacher representative to the EC, said, “JU has the academic autonomy to decide on its counselling process to maintain its academic standards.”