Presidency autonomy issue to be decided soon

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, January 28, 2007

The knot surrounding autonomy to Presidency College will be solved in March this year.
Speaking in the annual conference of West Bengal Government College Teachers’ Association (WBGCTA), higher education minister Sudarshan Roychoudhuri made it clear that the state does not want to take any decision in this regard. “We have framed a committee that is taking in opinions from all quarters on the issue of Presidency College’s autonomy. Their final meeting will take place in March, following which we will receive their recommendation. We will implement whatever they suggest,” he said.
Though a section wants Presidency to get autonomy, WBGCTA wants to convert the college into a university, with all government colleges coming under it. The committee is currently deliberating on the issue. On January 27, however, during a visit to the college, former school education minister Kanti Biswas had opposed the concept. “Many teachers here are very talented. They can be easily utilised to frame the syllabus and upgrade it. But if this college becomes a university, their scope will become limited. On the contrary, if the college is given academic and administrative autonomy, it would be able to nurture its talented pool of students and teachers in a better way,” he had said.
The alumni association of the college, however, feels that the college would be able to further improve its academic quality if it were given the status of a deemed university.
The higher education minister also expressed his dissatisfaction at the growing trend of teachers giving private tuition. “I have come to know from various quarters that teachers are giving too much time outside class. It should not happen,” he said.mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com