Instances of violence have been reported in colleges like B C Roy Engineering College, Birbhum Engineering and Technology College, Bankura Unnayani Institute of Engineering and a few other colleges where the students have resorted to gheraos and protests creating ruckus on the campus.

A large number of students have failed in the results declared on February 27 across all the 60 engineering colleges in the state.

In certain colleges, the performance of students has hit a new low. For instance, 250 candidates of a college who appeared for the semester examination, 209 have failed in a paper and will have to take the supplementary exams in order to get their degrees.

According to the office of the controller of examination, West Bengal University of Technology, this year they made sure that the flying squad visited every college once a week. They have also discontinued the practice of giving the identification code on answer scripts, which helped in ascertaining the name of the students' college.

“The students have to study and secure enough marks to get degrees. There is no alternative for hard work,” said Vice-Chancellor Sabyasanchi Sengupta.

“It is unfortunate that students fail to answer the questions asked by interviewers,” added Sengupta.

He said the students should bear in mind that about a decade ago only 1,000 students in the state could make it to engineering colleges. “Although the situation has improved now and even a student securing 20,000 rank can make it to the engineering college, yet he will have to cope up with the curriculum.”

Sengupta said he is waiting for the dust to settle down then he will take up the issue with teachers and students.

Teachers, meanwhile, see the steps as a positive sign to improve the quality of education in engineering colleges of the state.