EDUCATION: Seat relief for NBU students

EDUCATION: Seat relief for NBU students – while nothing still for the hills ?!!

File picture of a queue to collect admission forms from Siliguri College - same photo used before for hill children leaving hills due to political turmoil ?!!

FROM THE TELEGRAPH CORRESPONDENT

Siliguri, July 15: North Bengal University today asked affiliated colleges to open new sections in pass courses to accommodate students and extended the date of admission to July 23.

The move aims to help hundreds of students get admission to undergraduate courses in Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Cooch Behar districts as around 3,000 students in the three districts have not been able to get enrolled in any institution so far.

“We have asked the college authorities to start new sections for general courses to admit students if they can arrange extra class rooms. But there will be no change in the number of seats for the honours courses. However, the colleges will have to appoint one full-time and two part-time teachers for each new section they open. They will also have to arrange for books and reference material for the additional students. According to the university statute, the seat capacity of a new section is 150,” said Sushanta Das, the controller of examinations of NBU after the vice-chancellor had a meeting with the college principals on the campus.

The university asked the college authorities to furnish it with details about their existing infrastructure, the extension plan and the faculty members it wanted to recruit, Das said. “Even if the colleges do not have the infrastructure, they can admit the students, provided they develop it by September 30.”

When the meeting was going on, around 200 students, who are yet to get admission, sat in a dharna under the SFI’s banner in front of the administrative building since noon.

“I had tried for BCom general in Bagdogra College and Siliguri College of Commerce but could not get admission. But now things seem to be turning in our favour,” said a student who participated at the dharna.

Another student, who had applied for general course in humanities in Siliguri College, said she had been running from pillar to post for admission for the past one month. “Today’s decision is a relief,” she said.