After firming up the proposal to kick-start a Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to postgraduate courses in all universities in the state, the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education (WBSCHE) has now come up with the idea of having a similar arrangement for studying in colleges under various universities in Bengal.
"On November 6, we will have a meeting on CET preparedness for admission to postgraduate courses from the 2013 academic session. In this meeting, we will also propose the idea of having a common test for admission to undergraduate courses as well. Let the common exam at the postgraduate level begin first and, perhaps, we can learn from that experience," said Abhijit Chakraborty, vice-chairman of the WBSCHE.
HT has learned that the format of the CET for admission to undergraduate courses will be much like the postgraduate test. This means that the CET will carry a 70% weightage and board exam results will have a 30% impact. If the university and colleges want a separate test and interview, they will be free to do so, but will have to split this 30%. In other words, they could give 20% weightage to the entrance test and leave the 10% for board exam results.
There's more flexibility. "The weightage can also be 60-40, that is, 60% for CET and the rest for the board exam. And, if the university or colleges want to take their own entrance exam, they can divide this 40% between marks obtained at the board level and the test conducted by them," Chakraborty said.
{{/usCountry}}There's more flexibility. "The weightage can also be 60-40, that is, 60% for CET and the rest for the board exam. And, if the university or colleges want to take their own entrance exam, they can divide this 40% between marks obtained at the board level and the test conducted by them," Chakraborty said.
{{/usCountry}}Explaining why the common test at the undergraduate level would not burden students, Chakraborty said, "The questions will be general and all from the syllabus of the three boards."
The common test, in all probability, will be conducted by the School Service Commission or the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board. All the questions will be in the multiple-choice format and, hence, the result could be published quickly. "These are all our ideas, which will be discussed with all the stake-holders before implementation," Chakraborty said.
In addition to the CET, the November 6 meeting will also discuss the modalities of assessing the quality of the mushrooming engineering colleges in the state by the WBSCHE.
Delegates from the UK-based international accreditation agencies will be attending the meeting. The council will also make it mandatory for West Bengal University of Technology not to give affiliation to any engineering colleges or other institutes handing out MBA degrees and diplomas without a proper inspection.