Cotton College: Deemed univ countdown begins
17-member committee formed to expedite process; Memorandum to be submitted to UGC

By a Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Jan 31: The air seems to point to the fact that the long awaited dream of turning Cotton College into a deemed university is not very far from being realized. The countdown on the issue began today in right earnest with all stake holders pledging to expedite the process. A 17-member committee with Dr Kishori Mohan Pathak, former vice chancellor of Tezpur University as chairman, has been constituted to prepare the Memorandum of Association to be submitted by the College to the University Grants Commission.

At a brainstorming session held under the auspices of Association of Past and Present Office-bearers of Cotton College Union Society, all stake holders agreed that to keep pace with the rapid strides made by educational institutions across the globe, Cotton College should be upgraded so that it can impart relevant and innovative education to the coming generations.

Dr Gangapad Chowdhury, president, APPOCCUS, in his address stressed on the need to introduce innovativeness in the education system and said that Cotton College, in its new avatar would fulfil that need. "For any country, young and educated knowledge workers are an asset," he said adding that all suggestion regarding the modalities of upgradation were most welcome.

On the other hand, Dr Kishori Mohan Pathak in his address said that upgradation of the college would to a certain extent reduce the exodus of students going for higher studies from the State. He further pointed out that once the college got the deemed university status, every effort should be made to maintain that status. "Without whole-hearted co-operation from the faculty, it will be difficult to maintain the deemed university status," he warned.

It may be mentioned here that the stake holders discussed threadbare the various conditions that needed to be fulfilled for upgradation of the college as well as the benefits arising from its new status.

Dr Pradeep Sarma, while briefing the assembly on the concept of a deemed university, rest assured the concerns expressed regarding the funding aspect of the college once it was upgraded. He said that the funding agencies would continue funding and that there were possibilities of more funding from the ministry of HRD, once the college was upgraded.

Several speakers suggested that a clear stand should be taken regarding the +2 stage, whether it could be continued as a separate structure.

Samujjal Bhattarcharya, adviser, AASU, speaking on the occasion, said that the students body would extend all support on the deemed university issue.

HN Das, IAS (retd), said that all procedures necessary for the upgradation should be cleared before the coming elections, pointing out that continuing with only discussions would simply lead to procrastination.

Many educationists took part in the discussion, including Dr NK Choudhury, former VC, Gauhati University, Devdas Kakati, former VC, Dibrugarh University, and others.

It may be noted here that Cotton College principal Udayaditya Bharali was not present in today’s discussion, though he was invited.