Bengal govt clears 393 private BEd colleges for admissions in 2026-28 session

Kolkata, Nov 6 (PTI) West Bengal Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay on Friday said 393 private BEd colleges have been cleared to admit students in the 2026-28 academic session, while 205 others have been barred from undertaking the admission process before upgrading their infrastructure.

    In a post on social media, Chattopadhyay said the Higher Education and Technical Education Department had conducted inspections of BEd, ITI, pharmacy and polytechnic institutions across the state to assess their infrastructure and academic standards.

    "Of the 393 BEd colleges cleared, 156 received approval in the first round and another 237 in the second round," he said.

    Explaining the exercise, Chattopadhyay said the state government had undertaken inspections of BEd, ITI, polytechnic and pharmacy institutions to improve the standard of professional education.

    He said 205 BEd colleges have been barred from undertaking the admission process for the next session before upgrading their infrastructure.

    "In August, the higher education department allowed admissions in 150 of the 601 private self-financed BEd colleges and admissions to the remaining 451 ones had been put on hold after they were issued show-cause notices over infrastructure issues. Subsequently, 442 colleges submitted undertakings claiming they are adhering to infrastructure norms and appealed for government nod. However, the remaining nine colleges did not submit any representation," he told reporters on Thursday.

    Following the reinspection report, which was submitted by November 4, 237 colleges were found to have met the prescribed requirements and were initially permitted to start admissions for the 2026-28 session, but the final assessment revealed that 205 institutions continued "to fall short of the required standards", leading to the suspension of their admission process for the academic session 2027-28, the minister said.

    Clarifying that the action did not amount to cancellation of affiliation, Chattopadhyay said the government had no intention of shutting down these institutions.

    The minister also said, "admissions had been suspended in 14 of the state's 265 ITIs, 38 of the 134 pharmacy institutes and one of the 74 polytechnic colleges due to inadequate basic facilities.

    "Our objective is not to de-affiliate anyone. It is to ensure that every institution meets the standards our students deserve. Once these institutions upgrade their infrastructure and faculty, they are welcome back next session," he said.

    Emphasising the need to restore West Bengal's educational legacy, Chattopadhyay said the government was committed to improving academic standards and ensuring quality education for students.

    "We cannot build West Bengal's future by compromising on the education of our children," he said.

    The minister maintained that the exercise was aimed at ensuring that degrees awarded by educational institutions reflected knowledge, competence and opportunities rather than becoming "merely a piece of paper for sale".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)