Asutosh College

Asutosh College (Bengali: আশুতোষ কলেজ) is a college affiliated to the University of Calcutta, situated in Southern Kolkata, close to the Jatin Das Park Metro Station, gate No. 2. It was established in 1916 as the South Suburban College,[1] under the stewardship of educationist Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, who was the then vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta. After the death of Sir Mukherjee, the college was renamed as Asutosh College in 1924.[1] The present principal of the college is Prof. (Dr.) Manas Kabi. It is affiliated to the University of Calcutta.

Asutosh College
Front view of Asutosh College main building, Kolkata (old campus at Hazra)
MottoJnān Jethā Mukta (Bengali)
Motto in English
Where Knowledge is Free
TypePublic
Established17 July 1916 (17 July 1916)
Academic affiliations
University of Calcutta
PrincipalProf. (Dr.) Manas Kabi
Undergraduates5970 (As of 2021-22)
Postgraduates294 (As of 2021-22)
Location
Kolkata
,
West Bengal
,
India

22°31′31.43″N 88°20′38.10″E
CampusUrban
Websiteasutoshcollege.in

The first college in West Bengal to be accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council in 2002, it was given an A grade with a CGPA score of 3.22 in 2016, helping it secure its position among the top four affiliated colleges of West Bengal.[2] [3]

History
Sir Asutosh Mukherjee

In the year 2002, a post graduation course in Environmental Science was introduced. Post graduate courses in Applied Geology, Bengali, Computer Science, Information Science, Geography, Zoology were introduced in between 2009 and 2014. In 2013, add-on courses in Hospital waste disposal management, Industrial Chemistry and Travel & Tourism were introduced.[4]

In 2012, the Mother Teresa International Award was conferred on Asutosh College for outstanding achievement and contribution in the field of Best College of the Year.[5]

In 2014, University Grants Commission-approved free add-on courses on Tourism, Industrial Chemistry, and Hospital Waste Disposal Management were introduced by the college.[6]

Campuses

A Second Campus of Asutosh College was planned in 2003.[7] The Centenary Building of the college was inaugurated[8] by the erstwhile President of India, Pranab Mukherjee[9] on 1 April 2015. Asutosh college is the 12th college in Kolkata that was first to set up rooftop solar plant to produce 20 kW for its own use.[10][11]

Academics

However, this has continued to exacerbate the major imbalance in student to teacher ratio, in Honours classes as well as those for Pass subjects. This problem had been pointed out by NAAC in its very first review of the college in 2004. "In the big urban colleges, like that of Asutosh, the teacher-taught ratio needs to be much more balanced. Universities and educational administrators of the state need to think of a way out of this huge imbalance in the classroom, as this may throw normal teaching-learning out of gear."[12]

NAAC accreditation

In 2015, the Government of West Bengal offered a financial incentive of up to Rs. 2 crore each, to colleges with NAAC grading of A or B. The Department of Higher Education wanted institutions like Asutosh College with a proven academic track record of renewing their NAAC grade. But many colleges, including Asutosh, was reluctant to get involved in the process which the Principal at the time called "long drawn and fund consuming, without having any real benefit". While the college was rated C++ in its inaugural assessment back in 2002, it did not apply in 2007 when the rating expired. It has since applied for certification and now has an A grade rating by the NAAC.[13]

Facilities

The college has a separate counselling cell for both victims of ragging as well as possible aggressors, as part of an anti-ragging initiative.[14]

All the departments have their own libraries and well-organized laboratories for Science departments.

Controversies

In 1996, then Principal Subhankar Chakraborty was accused of moral policing after he asked female students to dress modestly.[15]

In early 2018, sanitary pad dispensers, installed in the college back in 2015 were found to be not working. Many female students did not know about the machines while others felt self-conscious to use the machines which were placed in corridors and other public parts of the campus. However, the college alleged the quality of pads were so low that students gave them a miss. They also said the after sales service of the company roped in by the state government to install and operate the machines, were unpredictable and bad.[16]

Notable alumni

See also

References
  1. Konar, Debashis (25 March 2013). "Grandson of Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee upset at Mamata's silence on letter". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. ":: ASUTOSH COLLEGE". asutoshcollege.in. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  3. "NAAC".
  4. "Untitled Document". www.asutoshcollege.in.
  5. "History of the College". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
  6. "Asutosh College : Admission step". Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  7. "Joka campus for Asutosh planned". Times of India. 15 April 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  8. RMIC Golpark (11 April 2015), 323V Inaguration [sic] Centenary Building Asutosh College Shri Pranab Mukherjee 1 4 15, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 13 September 2017
  9. "Pranab Mukherjee to visit West Bengal on April 1–2". www.netindian.in. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  10. "Ashutosh College among solar-compliant campuses". The Times of India. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  11. "Asutosh College has its own solar power". The Times of India. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  12. "State-wise Analysis of Accreditation Reports - West Bengal" (PDF).
  13. Mitra, Bishwabijoy (20 June 2017). "https://No NAAC stamp many West Bengal Colleges face deaffiliation". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  14. Mitra, Bishwabijoy (20 June 2017). "Colleges set up with anti-ragging initiatives". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  15. Dasgupta, Priyanka (2 May 2018). "I condemn moral policing in Kolkata: Asutosh College ex-principal". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  16. Mitra, Bishwabijoy (16 January 2018). "What Padman revolution ? Vending machines gather dust in city colleges". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  17. "Bappaditya Bandopadhyay Profile & Career". Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  18. "Dwaipayan Bharadwaj | Welcome to Jawaharlal Nehru University". Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  19. "biography". Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  20. "Prospectus_2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  21. "Notarized Affidavit of Education Qualifications".
  22. "Tripti Mitra Biography by Chandi Mukherjee". Gomolo.com. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  23. "Ghosh, Binoy - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org.
  24. Shubha Tiwari. "Writing as Social Service: The Literary Compass of Mahashweta Devi". boloji.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012. She attended Ashutosh College of Calcutta University (1943-44)
  25. "Neel Dutt Profile Family Education Career". Retrieved 12 November 2012.
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