Ranchi, July 16 : Ranchi University has reported a worrying trend in postgraduate (PG) admissions for the 2025–27 academic session, with only 628 students completing enrolment across 30 university departments despite 1,462 applicants submitting their applications and admission fees.
The university is scheduled to commence PG classes for the new session on July 20. However, admissions have remained significantly below expectations, with several departments filling less than half of their available seats.
Admission figures reveal particularly low enrolment in a number of subjects. Kharia recorded only one admission, followed by Sociology with two and Kurmali with three. Philosophy and Panchpargania each admitted four students, while Bengali and Geology enrolled seven students each. Sanskrit recorded eight admissions. In eight subjects, enrolment has failed to reach double digits.
University officials said that in some departments the number of teachers now exceeds the number of enrolled students due to the poor response. English recorded the highest enrolment with 61 students, followed by Mathematics with 51. Geography, Hindi and Commerce each admitted 41 students.
According to the university, the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) and delays in the admission process are the primary reasons behind the low enrolment.
Under the NEP, students pursuing the four-year undergraduate programme have two options for postgraduate studies. Students opting to enter PG after completing the sixth semester are required to pursue a two-year postgraduate course and leave their undergraduate programme. Those completing all eight semesters of the undergraduate programme are eligible for a one-year PG course.
The current admission figures indicate that relatively few students have opted to join postgraduate programmes after the sixth semester. University officials also noted that the admission process started nearly a year behind schedule, prompting many eligible students to secure admission in other institutions.
Keeping the new academic structure in view, the university has already reduced first-semester PG intake to nearly half of the earlier capacity. Officials believe this has helped improve seat occupancy in some departments, although overall enrolment remains considerably below expectations.
Among other departments, Anthropology admitted 18 students, Economics 30, History 29, Political Science 24, Psychology 28, Botany and Chemistry 22 each, Physics 27, Zoology 33, Home Science 12, Urdu 10, Ho and Mundari 11 each, Kudukh 17, Nagpuri 27, Santali 15 and Khortha 21 students.
