West Bengal Approves Offline Decentralised Counselling for WBJEE 2026 Vacant Seats

The West Bengal State Higher Education Department has officially granted approval for institutes to conduct offline, campus-level decentralised counselling for the 2026 academic session. This decision comes as a strategic move to address the significant number of BTech seats that remained vacant following the completion of the two-phase online Decentralised Counselling and Admission Process (DCAP) managed by the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board (WBJEEB).

This one-time relaxation is expected to provide a pathway for students to secure admission into approximately 21,000 vacant seats across participating institutions. The move follows requests from various state universities, including Jadavpur University and Calcutta University, whose vice-chancellors had previously petitioned the state government to allow for a traditional, offline approach to fill remaining vacancies.

Guidelines for Institutional Admission Processes

Under the new directive, individual institutes are now authorised to manage their own admission arrangements, which may include both physical and online modes. Institutions are required to publish comprehensive details regarding seat vacancies, eligibility criteria, and the specific admission procedure on their respective official websites. To ensure transparency, institutes must also provide a copy of their vacancy notices to both the State Higher Education Department and the WBJEEB.

The department has instructed colleges to accept applications through official email addresses in addition to physical submissions. When determining seat allotments, institutions are mandated to select candidates based strictly on merit, student preferences, and the availability of seats. To maintain oversight, the WBJEEB will establish a common online portal where institutes must record essential details regarding the candidates admitted through this decentralised process.

Final Deadlines and Reporting Requirements

The state government has set a firm deadline for the completion of this admission drive. All institutions participating in the decentralised counselling process must finalise their admissions and submit the required candidate data, along with vacancy and admission particulars, to the designated online portal by October 31, 2026.

This policy shift has been welcomed by both academic institutions and students, many of whom had advocated for a return to traditional counselling methods to ensure that vacant seats are filled efficiently. By allowing this flexibility, the state aims to streamline the final stages of the BTech admission cycle for the 2026 academic year.