State-run Behala College in Kolkata gets autonomous tag
Kolkata, Jul 30 (PTI) State-run Behala College, affiliated with the University of Calcutta, has been granted autonomous status, enabling the institution to independently manage its academic functioning for 10 years, varsity officials said on Wednesday.
The university issued a letter on Monday to the college administration conferring the status.
According to a college official, Behala College is the only non-religious, non-minority, state-aided institution in West Bengal to have been granted autonomy, they added.
'University of Calcutta is hereby pleased to confer the status of an autonomous college under this university in favour of Behala College for a period of 10 years from the academic year 2025-26 to 2034-2035," CU's letter signed by registrar Debasis Das addressed to the Principal Sharmila Mitra read.
The university decided to grant autonomous status to the college after the UGC on July 2 had recommended that the college be granted autonomy status.
Mitra said, 'The college will launch postgraduate courses in five subjects – English, cybersecurity and digital forensics, geo-informatics, applied microbiology and data science and analytics – from August." This will be in addition to the PG courses in four subjects — chemistry, mathematics, Bengali and history, making a total of nine postgraduate subjects to be taught independently by the college.
Established in 1963, Behala College has over 2,000 students and was recently awarded an A++ NAAC rating—the highest rating conferred by the UGC.
Among other prominent autonomous colleges in West Bengal are St. Xavier's College, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira (Belur), and Scottish Church College. PTI SUS MNB
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July 30, 2025, 16:45 IST
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