Kolkata, 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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
