Degree of confusion

Updated on: Thursday, July 08, 2010

The question uppermost on the minds of students taking admission in Presidency College this year is whether they will be awarded a degree from Presidency ‘University’ when it takes shape at a later stage.

Dibyajyoti Basu, whose daughter has got a chance to study in the college, is one of the guardians who want their wards to get the benefit during their three-year graduation. The counselling sessions are starting at Presidency College from Wednesday.

State higher education minister Sudarshan Raychaudhuri, however, has no definite answer to their query. “Logically speaking, students taking admission in Presidency College this year should receive a degree from Calcutta University as the Presidency University Bill has not yet been enacted,” said Raychaudhuri.

Fact is that the bill has been passed in the Assembly, but the gazette notification has not yet been made. The transition from college to university will start from the date of the gazette notification. But that won’t happen in a day. The government has to ensure a smooth passage, weeding out legal hassles.

“The transition has to be smooth. It may so happen that the institution has to run two parallel systems over a brief period, one teaching students under Calcutta University as it is now, and another teaching under the upcoming unitary university. However, one should not predict the future. The matter will be decided once the college receives the university status,” a college teacher pointed out.

Officials in the higher education department, however, asserted that students taking admission this year have to study under the existing system as students of Presidency College under Calcutta University.

“It happens with all institutions. The new Gourbanga University is a case in point. It happened when the university was formed with some colleges under North Bengal University. There was a period when the new university ran two separate systems, one autonomous and the other affiliated to North Bengal University. It also happened with Burdwan or Kalyani when they emerged as separate universities, breaking away from Calcutta University. Students who took admission under the existing university system continued their classes while the new students who took admission under the newly formed university then followed the new system,” an official said.

Principal of the college, Amitava Chatterjee, said there has been no official notification till now. “Neither has the new university act been framed. We still remain under Calcutta University,” he said. (TNN)

Degree of confusion

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