The state JEE board has decided against conducting entrance test for admission to the five-year evening engineering course at Jadavpur University owing to poor turnout of candidates for a programme that did not find enough takers last year.

An official of the joint entrance examination board said that making arrangements for conducting a test that attracts a poor volume of aspirants is not justifiable and therefore from 2021 onwards, the board will not conduct the test.

A notice signed by Malayendu Saha, the chairman of the board reads: “....the board will not conduct common entrance test or counseling for JEEDEC (the name of the test) in the year 2021 and onward’’.

The evening engineering course is usually pursued by the working professionals.

Last year, for 50 seats each in the evening courses of electrical and mechanical engineering and civil engineering, 350 odd candidates had taken the test.

The test last year was conducted by the university because of the pandemic.

The number of aspirants has been depleting over the years, a JEE board official said.

“It’s a waste of resources and manpower if we hold the test for such a small number of candidates,’’ the official said.

Will JU then be holding the test henceforth?

“We have not taken any decision on this as yet. The university will decide in due course of time,’’ said JU pro vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, who is also a member of the board.

Pointing to lack of demand, an official of the university said after the university conducted counselling independently in December, of the 50 seats each in the electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, 33 and 34 seats had remained vacant, respectively.

The university had to hold a fresh round of counseling in January and despite that around 25 per cent seats remained vacant.

He said that five-year degree is losing its sheen possibly because the hope that the degree will bring promotions has faded among potential applicants.

AICTE, the apex regulatory board in engineering education, stresses on four-year BTech degree.

Will the university then discontinue the course?

“The course will die a natural death as has happened to the three-year BTech course of Calcutta University. We don’t have to do anything,” said a JU official.

The evening engineering programme at JU was introduced in the early 1980s.

The state JEE board had begun holding the entrance test from 2015.

Till 2014 the entrance used to be conducted by the university itself.