Jadavpur University has begun independent counselling to fill 182 vacant BTech seats, including positions in civil and electrical engineering, after delayed admissions and the state’s centralised counselling process left seats unfilled. General-category candidates with ranks up to 12,000 in the state Joint Entrance Examination have been invited, while reserved-category candidates can apply regardless of their JEE scores.
The university’s counselling process will continue until October 30. JU has 1,192 BTech seats across its engineering departments, of which 182 remained vacant after several rounds conducted by the state JEE board.
The vacancies include 33 seats in civil engineering and 11 in electrical engineering. The university’s vice-chancellor, Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, said the institution was concerned that the delayed process was forcing it to invite candidates lower down the merit list.
“If you hold delayed counselling, you are bound to get students from lower down the rank. This is not a healthy sign for an institute,” Bhattacharjee said.
BTech classes at JU began on October 12, later than classes at the Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology, according to the vice-chancellor. He said some students had already joined other institutions because they could not wait for JU’s counselling process to conclude.
“I know a candidate who took admission to Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Odisha because of the delayed counselling at JU. At KIIT, they have by now completed the mid-term,” Bhattacharjee said.
A JU official said the university was losing students because of delayed admissions and then having to fill vacant seats with candidates lower down the merit list. The official said the situation did not reflect well on the institution and could affect its ability to attract high-performing students.
The admissions delay comes as JU faces pressure on its standing among engineering institutions. The university was ranked 10th among engineering institutions in the National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2023, 12th in 2024 and 18th in 2025, its lowest position since the rankings began in 2015. The NIRF rankings for the current year have not yet been announced.
JU was ranked the best state public university in India in the NIRF released by the Union education ministry last year. The university official said attracting bright students would be necessary if JU is to improve its ranking.
The state government permitted JU and Calcutta University on October 13 to conduct independent counselling for BTech seats left vacant after the centralised process. JU had sought permission earlier this year to conduct its own counselling immediately after the state JEE results were announced, but was not granted approval at that stage.
Bhattacharjee said the university would again approach the state education department for permission to hold independent counselling immediately after the publication of future state JEE results. He also said BTech classes should begin in July so that JU does not lose students to institutions that start their academic sessions earlier.
