~ University Education ~

General Information

Higher Education has always been West Bengal’s comparative advantage. Whether in the liberal arts, performing arts, or the sciences, men and women of outstanding merit from the State have excelled themselves nationally and internationally. Building on a unique culture that values the pursuit of the intellect and regards highly the written word, the Higher Education Department is endeavouring to reclaim the mantle of being India’s intellectual capital.

    Spawning an ecosystem that has traditionally laid a high social value on educational achievements, the State is in an ideal position to emerge as a hub of higher education. As the gateway to India’s north eastern region and adjoining Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, Orissa, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, West Bengal can emerge as a magnet for students and researchers from several States of East and Northeast India as well as the neighbouring countries.

    Historically, as the capital of British India, Kolkata was the first to develop a modern system of education. It was here that in 1784, Sir William Jones, a well-known philologist of his time, established the Asiatic Society for the promotion of Oriental Studies. Missionaries and savants such as Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Shashi Bhushan Chatterjee and William Carey spearheaded the establishment of modern education in the city.

    Calcutta University was one of the first universities to be set up in India (1857) as was the first medical college. Hindoo College (later called Presidency College) was set up in 1817; in 2010 it was conferred the status of a University. The National Council of Education, Bengal later became the Jadavpur University in 1955. The Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, is today a Central University.

    Missionary efforts in the spread of higher education in Bengal are well known. In 1860, St Xavier’s College, named after St Francis Xavier, a 16th century missionary to India, was set up. Affiliated to the University of Calcutta, it became the first autonomous college in the State in 2006. St Xavier’s College is poised to become a full-fledged University soon. With about 4,000 students today, St Xavier’s College is expanding to another campus in New Town.

    Advances were also made in the field of science and technology. The Bengal Engineering College, Shibpur was founded in 1856. At the time, it was only the second such institution in all of British India. It was taken over by the Government of India and renamed the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur in 2014 and today serves as a premier national institution for research and education in engineering, science and technology. IIT Kharagpur is the oldest IIT in India and has been ranked among the top 100 institutions in the world by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Graduate Employability Rankings while the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta has consistently ranked as one of the three premier business schools of the country.

    Sanskrit College, established in 1824 is one of the oldest educational institutions in India specialising in the study of Sanskrit, Indian languages and Indological Studies. Recently, it has been upgraded into a university aimed at revitalising the study of Sanskrit in the state.

    19 state-aided University Acts have been passed. Out of them 9 state-aided universities are in operation, raising from 12 to 21. Other than that 11 Private Universities have been established.

State Aided Universities

Central Universities