The higher education department has asked universities to admit students to postgraduate courses through online mode from November 1 as the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to continue and physical assembly on the campus will not be advisable, said an official of the department.

The department had on September 16 issued an order barring the universities from calling prospective candidates to campuses for counselling or verification of documents. The order states the date of commencement of admission of students to postgraduate courses.

Eligible applicants should be informed directly by the universities through email or telecommunication, states the order.

The start of the academic session has not yet been announced, as the department is not in a position to tell when the campuses will reopen, said the official.

“We have asked the universities to follow the mode that the colleges followed for undergraduate admissions. The government had issued a notification on July 16 telling colleges how to admit students amid the pandemic. The situation has not improved and is likely to remain the same given the steady spread of the virus,” he said.

The department decided that postgraduate admission would start on November 1 after the UGC last week asked the universities to publish the end semester/final year results of the graduating students by the end of October so admissions to the first year of postgraduate/PhD programme could be completed without any further delay and the next session could start on time.

The September 16 order states that since a prospective candidate is not required to visit the campus, the documents will be verified once classes start. Admissions will be cancelled if the documents are found not in conformity with the declarations made in the online applications, said the official.

An official of Jadavpur University said that while a candidate till last year submitted the application form online, he or she had to visit the campus to get the documents verified before the start of classes.

The education department’s notice says: "All the stakeholders shall adhere to COVID-19 norms/ protocol issued by the government.”

Details of the bank where the candidates seeking admission will deposit the fees have to be sent through SMS or email, said another official. The lists of eligible candidates will also have to be made available to the designated bank branches for verification during payment.

Fees should be paid only through e-payment or the designated bank and not physically at the universities, the order says.

Keeping the health hazard in mind, the department has devised the system in a way that students will not have to come in contact with others during admission, said another official.

Deadline extended

The higher education department has extended the last date of admission to undergraduate colleges from September 25 to October 30 as seats are vacant, education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Sunday. Chatterjee said as many as 25 per cent of the seats are vacant in some colleges. “The order on extending the deadline will be issued on Monday,’’ Chatterjee said at a rally in Behala.