Anger Over "English Medium" Rule, Kolkata's Loreto College Apologises

Amid an outrage, the Loreto College in Kolkata has revoked a policy that barred students from schools where the medium of instruction is Bengali and other languages to seek admission in undergraduate courses.

In its first merit list for admission to seven BA and BSc honours programmes, the college said students whose medium of instruction in class 12 was "vernacular" have not been considered.

It sparked outrage among the students and the people with many terming it discriminatory. Fringe outfit Bangla Pokkho held a rally outside the college, protesting against the issue.

Calcutta University registrar Debasis Das told PTI it does not allow affiliated colleges to frame such discriminatory rules, and discriminate on the basis of a student's medium of learning.

He said the representatives of the college were summoned over the issue.

Amid the outrage, the college apologised and said the admission policy was being revoked.

"Loreto College, Kolkata unconditionally apologises to the people of Bengal and revokes the said admission policy notice with immediate effect," it said in a statement.

"Loreto College, Kolkata, has a rich legacy of service and all-round education for over 100 years in Bengal. The recent admission policy notice does not reflect the values we cherish," it added.

The college also said that it was an "unintended error".

Loreto College principal Sister Christine Coutinho told PTI, "We have issued a fresh notice and I don't want to say anything more on the issue."

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)