Tripura Education Minister Raises Polytechnic Students' Counselling Crisis with West Bengal Counterpart
Jun 25, 2026
Agartala, Jun 25: Students from Tripura Women's Polytechnic's Fashion Technology department who cleared West Bengal's WBJELET examination are being denied access to key textile and apparel technology colleges during online counselling, prompting Tripura Higher Education Minister Kishor Barman to take the matter directly to West Bengal's Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay in Kolkata on June 24. In a press release issued after the meeting, Minister Barman stated, "The students are unable to find institutions like Government College of Engineering and Textile Technology, Serampore and Berhampore in the choice filling list during the first round of online counselling, and as a result, qualified students are being excluded from the admission process."
It is learned that Tripura's Higher Education Department had formally written to the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board on December 20, 2025, seeking intervention. However, the issue remained unresolved, leading to Tuesday's meeting at Bikash Bhavan, Kolkata. Minister Barman also raised the issue of reserved seats during the meeting. "In the past, West Bengal's government engineering and technology institutions had reserved seats for Tripura students, through which many students accessed quality higher education. However, during the Trinamool Congress government's tenure, that arrangement was virtually discontinued, and our meritorious students suffered as a result," he said.
According to Barman, West Bengal Higher Education Minister Chattopadhyay responded positively to all concerns raised. "The minister assured us that restoring the reserved seat arrangement for Tripura students would be considered at the earliest, and that necessary steps would also be taken to resolve the difficulties faced by students in the current academic year," he stated. Moreover, Minister Barman underlined the broader significance of the initiative. "Tripura and West Bengal share a long tradition of educational cooperation. If this effort succeeds, it will benefit a large number of our students and contribute meaningfully to human resource development across the Northeast," he added. He further confirmed, "We will continue to follow up with all concerned authorities to ensure that the rights of Tripura's students to higher education are fully protected."
