Vidyasagar College
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Vidyasagar College (
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
: বিদ্যাসাগর কলেজ) is a state government-aided
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
college, affiliated to the
University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
, located in
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The college offers both post-graduate and under-graduate courses in a number of subjects of arts and science. Founded in 1872, it was the first private college (now governmental) in India which was purely run, maintained and financed by Indians. Formerly known as ''Metropolitan Institution'', it was named after its founder
Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. ...
in 1917. The college is affiliated to
Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...
, under UGC and accredited by NAAC. It follows semester based CBCS system. The college does not participate in
NIRF The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a methodology adopted by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The Framework was approved by the MHRD and launched by Minister o ...
ranking in college category. The college was a part of DBT STAR College Scheme. The college receives funding from
State Government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
, UGC (via CU) and other GOI-affiliated institutes or schemes i.e RUSA,
ICSSR The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) is the national body overseeing research in the social sciences in India. It was established in New Delhi in 1969. Council The Council is currently chaired by Bhushan Patwardhan. Current ...
,
AICTE The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body, and a national-level council for technical education, under the Department of Higher Education. Established in November 1945 first as an advisory body and later on in ...
and NIEIT.


History

A Bengali educationist named Thakurdas Chakraborty founded Metropolitan Training School (later Calcutta Training School) in 1859 at 1 Arpuly Lane, Kolkata. Pundit
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. ...
, the educationist and social reformer, joined the institution as the President of the Managing Committee in the school in 1860. In 1864, the school was renamed as the Metropolitan Institution.https://vclibrary.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/vidyasagarcollege_prospectus-2011-12.pdf


Upgradation to college

In 1864,
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. ...
applied to the Calcutta University for their affiliation to the First Arts (FA) course. The application was turned down, mainly due to the objection raised by Mr J. Sutcliffe, the then Principal of Presidency College. He stated that giving affiliation to a competitive college run by the Indians may undermine the dignity and importance of Presidency College. However, the students of the school performed extremely well in the Entrance Examination, conducted by the University of Calcutta in 1871. For this brilliant performance of students, Pundit Vidyasagar renewed his efforts for getting affiliation of the University. This time, despite some opposition, the University Vice-Chancellor, Edward Clive Bail, agreed to the proposal and on 27 January 1871, the Syndicate in its meeting sanctioned the prayer for affiliation and recommended it to the Government. Finally, on 19 February 1871 the Government of India sanctified affiliation of the institution up to the standard of the First Examination in Arts (FA), with effect from the month of January 1872. The college became the first private and truly secular college in the
Presidency of Bengal The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
, run, taught and even financed by Indians. The college initially started with only 5 departments, which included Sanskrit, English, Philosophy and General History. Masses like
Surendranath Banerjee Sir Surendranath Banerjee often known as Rashtraguru ( bn, Rāṣṭraguru, Teacher of the Nation; 10 November 18486 August 1925) was Indian nationalist leader during the British Rule. He founded a nationalist organization called the Indian Nati ...
were associated with teaching in the institute. The College received affiliation of the University for Imparting Education up to Graduation level in 1879 and for BL course in 1882.


Renaming, upgrowth and formation of evening and woman wings

After the passing away of the founder in 1891, Metropolitan Institute, was renamed to Vidyasagar College in 1917.
Saradaranjan Ray Saradaranjan Ray (26 May 1858 – 30 October 1925) was an Indian teacher of mathematics and Sanskrit who worked at Aligarh University and at Calcutta. He was also a cricket enthusiast and promoter who has been called the "W.G. Grace of India" a ...
, who taught Sanskrit, was the principal of the college, at that time. His third brother, Muktidaranjan Ray, who taught Mathematics, was also a professor of this college. Since 1917 the College entered a phase of rapid upgradation, expanded academic curriculum and introduced a commerce department in 1922. The Commerce Department has been considered as the oldest commerce teaching department in India. It had its affiliation up to B.Com standard in 1928 and gradually attracted students from whole India. Due to the rapid growth of the commerce section, in terms of faculty and student strength, a separate wing devoted to commerce teaching in evening hours was established in 1951. In 1961, the evening section emerged as an independent entity with a separate Governing Body and affiliation from University of Calcutta, having a new name "Vidyasagar Metropolitan College". On 1 July 1931, the Woman Section of the college was introduced. The classes for Woman section were scheduled in morning. In 1960, the morning Woman section separated as a new independent entity with the affiliation of University of Calcutta.


Campuses

The college has three campuses in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
: Main campus (heritage campus), Bidhan Sarani Campus' and Bidhannagar Campus. The main campus is at ''39 Sankar Ghose Lane'' near the College Street. The second campus is Bidhan Sarani Campus at Bidhan Sarani Road, which is connected internally to the main campus. The
Vidyasagar College for Women Vidyasagar College for Women is a women's college affiliated to the University of Calcutta. History It was founded in 1960. However, its history goes back to 1931 when a separate women's section of the Vidyasagar College was started to cater t ...
and Vidyasagar Metropolitan College (night college) are also connected in the same area. The college has its third campus named Bidhannagar Campus at the Salt lake Sector II, which is specialized for post-graduate courses. The three campuses and playground consists total around 3 acres (excluding Vidyasagar Women's college and Vidyasagar Metropolitan college campuses) with total built up area being 8210.13 sq. Mr.


Academics


Departments and courses

The college has following 21 departments in UG level: English, Bengali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Philosophy, History, Political Science, Economics, Geography, Journalism, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Electronics, Zoology, Botany, Physiology, Bio-Chemistry, Psychology and Food & Nutrition. The college offers 20 honours courses, 4 general courses. The post graduate courses are offered in Geography (Regional Planning, Urban & Transport Geography, Advanced Geomorphology, Population & Welfare Geography) and Zoology (Fisheries and Aquaculture, Entomology, Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Parasites and Immunology).


Computer centre and courses

The college has a separate Computer Centre and computer education unit, which is directly accredited by the
National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), formerly known as the DOEACC Society, is a society that offers Information Technology and Electronics training at different levels. It is an autonomous scientific society und ...
, Department of Electronics, Government of India. It conducts CCC ,”O” Level and “A” Level Courses which are recognized by the
All India Council of Technical Education The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is a statutory body, and a national-level council for technical education, under the Department of Higher Education. Established in November 1945 first as an advisory body and later on in ...
(AICTE). The Directorate of Employment, Govt. of West Bengal has also recognized the courses that are taught at this centre. The Computer Centre is governed by an academic committee, composed of faculty members from the college and from the Institute of Computer Engineers (India). Various educational CDs can be accessed through the CD library of the centre.


NAAC Accreditation

In cycle 2 accreditation of 2016, by the
National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a government organisation in India that assesses and accredits Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission and headquarte ...
, the college was re-accredited a "B++" grade on the basis of CGPA 2.80. In cycle 1, the college was accredited a "B" grade on the basis of CGPA 2.63 under a four point scale.


Incidents


Attacks due to political violence

A scuffle broke out between student activists from the
All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
and the
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
. Stone pelting incidents have been reported near a college hostel on Bidhan Sarani Street in Kolkata during
Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...
's Road show in May 2019. BJP workers and supporters shouted "
Jai Shri Ram ''Jai Shri Ram'' ( IAST: ) is an expression in Indic languages, translating as "Glory to Lord Rama" or "Victory to Lord Rama". The proclamation has been used by Hindus as an informal greeting, as a symbol of adhering to Hindu faith, or for ...
" and "Narendra Modi Zindabad" during the road show. BJP activists locked the doors of the hostel and set up bicycles and motorbikes parked outside on fire. Local news organisation Anandabazar Patrika’s ground report shows stones being hurled inside the premises by people standing outside on the road, wearing saffron coloured “NaMo Again” t-shirts. The footage does not show anyone throwing stones from inside the campus. In the violence that followed, the BJP workers vandalized the college hostel and destroyed the bust of
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century. ...
.


Notable alumni


See also

*
List of colleges affiliated to the University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, is one of the oldest and most renowned educational institutions in South Asia. It was established in 1857. There are several colleges and institutes that are affiliated to this univers ...
*
Education in India Education in India is primarily managed by state-run public education system, which fall under the command of the government at three levels: central, state and local. Under various articles of the Indian Constitution and the Right of Child ...
*
Education in West Bengal Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...


References


External links

* {{authority control Academic institutions associated with the Bengal Renaissance Vidyasagar College Educational institutions established in 1872 Schools in Colonial India University of Calcutta affiliates 1872 establishments in India