Jadavpur University’s English department has stuck to its stand that students should be admitted to its undergraduate course based on their admission test scores, despite being advised by vice-chancellor Suranjan Das to reconsider it, a professor at the department said.
The department had voiced its stand at a meeting of the admission committee of the arts faculty on April 4. The next day Das met teachers of the department and suggested that they consider both the Plus-II board marks and the admission test scores while selecting students for admission to the undergraduate course.
“Our stand remains unchanged,” asserted the professor. “We are for admitting students based solely on their admission test scores, a system that we followed till 2017. Last year, we were forced to give equal weightage to the admission test scores and the Plus-II board marks.”
The head of the department will convey the stand to the executive council, the highest decision-making body of the university, when it meets on April 22, the teacher said.
A two-member committee the executive council had set up to review the admission modalities had recommended last month that JU give equal weightage to the entrance test scores and the plus-II board marks for admission to six undergraduate courses in humanities, including English and comparative literature.
At the April 4 meeting of the admission committee, representatives of the comparative literature department, too, had spoken in favour of admitting students based on their admission test scores.
Asked whether they are still sticking to the stand, a teacher of the department said: “As of now yes. But if the VC and others at the executive council meeting insist we reconsider our decision, the teachers may meet again.”
Last year, the council had announced that students would be enrolled in the undergraduate courses in humanities based on their Plus-II marks. A protest by teachers finally led the council to opt for equal weightage to the board marks and the admission test scores.