Jadavpur University started its diploma course in Journalism and Mass Communication in 1989, which has run uninterrupted until this year. The university is shutting down this course for the year due to an utter lack of applications from aspirants. The portal for applying to the course reached its deadline on December 3. A minuscule 60 students had applied by then. A fraction of this is expected to take admission, which would not justify the costs. So, the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, Law and Management (FISLM) has decided to discontinue the course for this year.
What does the management say?
Dr. Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, said, “The department has itself taken this decision through the Board of Studies. The main reason behind this is that the number of takers of this course is declining. Students are preferring regular degree courses over diplomas.” When asked about the controversies surrounding the department, the VC said, “These are old incidents. Multiple reviews have been done over the allegations. We have resolved the matter, and revised marksheets will be provided accordingly. We don’t think that the controversies have anything to do with this.”
Dr. Partha Sarathi Chakraborty, Dean of FISLM, told News Ei Samay, “This year, only 60 applications were received, out of which maybe 30 to 40 students would have enrolled. As a result, it was not financially feasible to cover all the expenses required to run the course. Therefore, the course has been suspended this year.”
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JU Executive Council member and professor at the Department of English Dr. Manojit Mandal blamed the lack of interest of aspirants on the constant controversy surrounding the department since 2024, when the then head of Journalism and Mass Communication Santwan Chatterjee, along with another professor, was accused of marking examination answer sheets without proper checking, giving rise of accusations of favoritism. Dr. Mandal said, “This was the oldest course, not to be confused with the master's course that was started in 2018. It was a popular course, which went on for three-and-a-half decades. We have raised the issue of the lack of qualified teachers in the department multiple times. We can’t understand the reason behind starting the master’s course despite a lack of teachers. The then Vice-Chancellor started this course, and we were kept in the dark. Now the original course is being shut down.”
Dr. Mandal added, “Controversy has marred the department. Teachers have been found to give marks without checking answer scripts, or not give out marks at all. All this has weighed heavily on the department. This has not been informed the EC yet, so the university probably doesn’t know about the decision. This is a very unfortunate development, and the department will have to be more careful in the coming days, because the condition of the master’s course is deplorable as well.”
What do students say?
A master’s student, on condition of anonymity, told News Ei Samay, “The admission test for the diploma course was set to take place on the 13th. A total of 58 students had applied for the course, while the intake capacity stands at 120. The university authority decided to stall the examination and skip the course for this year, as the number of applicants stands at less than half of the total capacity of the course. The university didn’t put up a notice of cancellation, but a refund notice on the evening of December 11, as the students had to pay a certain fee while applying.” He added, “Many students had arrived for the examination, only to know that it had been cancelled.”
Souhardya Deb, a former student of the course, said, “Being an ex-Jadavpur University Mass Communication diploma student, it is extremely shameful and painful to learn that this year the diploma admissions have not been conducted. Over the last 2-3 years, the condition of the department has been steadily deteriorating, ranging from declining teaching facilities to poor infrastructure. We often discussed this looming threat among ourselves, fearing that the department might one day be completely shut down. The suspension of the postgraduate diploma programme feels like the first concrete step towards that feared outcome.”
An aspirant’s take
News Ei Samay spoke with a student who was aspiring to take admission in the course. He said, “I am a working student and was taking preparation accordingly. I came to know about the news when I went to check the help-desk WhatsApp group for previous year questions. A senior informed us of everything. This happened just a day before the exam. The authority could have thought better.”
With the closure of the diploma course, the future of the Journalism and Mass Communication master’s course at Jadavpur University also hangs in the balance.
