Kolkata: The number of vacant seats at the end of the first round of undergraduate (UG) admissions through the Central Admission Portal (CAP) this year is almost a third of that recorded last year. Officials associated with the admission process attribute this improvement to the early start of the admission cycle.
Since the portal opened, 24.6 lakh applications have been received from 4.5 lakh applicants for 7,232 UG courses. The total number of UG seats available under CAP exceeds 9 lakh across 459 colleges, but allotments in the first round were limited to 3.8 lakh. At the end of the first round, 3.1 lakh students confirmed their admissions, leaving approximately 70,000 seats vacant. In contrast, last year around 2 lakh seats remained unclaimed after the first round.
An official explained that the low admission rate last year was likely due to a two-month delay in starting the admission process, compounded by a legal dispute over the OBC reservation list. This uncertainty led many students to seek admission elsewhere. However, this year the CAP portal opened within a week of the state board Class 12 Higher Secondary results being declared, resulting in a surge in applications.
“We were hopeful that this time, the admission situation would be better than last year because of the early start. Based on the total allotment of seats so far, the first phase of admission went off well,” said a senior official. “We are equally hopeful about the rest of the seats filling up in the upgrade round. After the first and upgrade rounds are over, we will conduct a second round as well.”
Despite the surge in applications and the quick filling of seats, college principals have voiced some concerns. “The first phase of admission went off well for seats in the general courses. But the number for basic science subjects has been very poor, and I don’t have much hope for any change in the later rounds,” said the principal of a college. Another principal added, “This year, more seats were filled in the first phase than last year, but the real concern is how many of these students will actually take up the courses and continue for the next three or four years. Because the admissions started early, we saw a good number of students with high percentages taking admission. But if they leave later, the same vacuum will be created. I believe we need a proper policy to find a permanent solution and restructure our course curriculum to offer better prospects to students. Only then will we not have to worry about counting how many seats get filled.”
The higher education department will release institution-wise and course-wise seat allotment for the upgrade round on June 20. Admissions will be held between June 20 and June 23.
Graphic: Comparison of First Round Admissions (2025 vs 2026)
- 2026: Total seat allotment: 3.8 lakh; Total admission after first phase: 3.1 lakh; Vacant: Around 70,000
- 2025: Total seat allotment: 4 lakh; Total admission: 2 lakh and above; Vacant: 2 lakh
Important Dates for CAP Admission 2026
- June 20: Publication of seat allotment in the upgrade round
- June 20-23: Admission against seat allotment in the upgrade round
- June 27 - July 4: Physical verification of admitted candidates at the institution level
- July 6: Commencement of new academic session
- Second Phase of admission: From July 7 to August 5
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata
Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news. Download the TOI App.
