Kolkata: The192-year-old Presidency College, located in the City of Joy, which played a major role in the 19th century renaissance, will soon get University status. The college was founded in the year 1817, and it was christened Presidency College in 1855. Till date, it was an affiliate of the Calcutta University, the status which is going to change soon enough.
As per sources, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, on Tuesday (i.e. December 1, 2009) gave his written consent on upgradation of the hallowed institution of learning, which has some of the acclaimed names, such as Swami Vivekananda, Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen, scientist Satyendranath Bose, revolutionary Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, India's first president Rajendra Prasad and filmmaker Satyajit Ray, among its alumni. Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi has already given its consent, for the same.
According to a statement made by Chief Minister's Secretariat, initially the Presidency University will function as a unitary one, without any power to have any affiliate colleges. However, such powers can be given later on. Granting of university status to the Presidency College has been a long-standing demand of the state's academicians and intellectuals, which is now about to come true.
