Matters India reporter
Siliguri, Dec. 21, 2022 — West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu has handed over the letter of Approval of Autonomy for Salesian College in Sonada.
The event took place December 21 during the meeting of principals of 64 colleges affiliated to North Bengal University with the education minister.
College principal Father George Thadathil received the letter in the presence of North Bengal University Vice Chancellor Om Prakash Mishra, Inspector of Colleges Subrata Sanyal and Registrar Nupur Das (Officiating).
Salesian College established in 1933 in Shillong, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya was and translocated to Sonada in Darjeeling in 1938.
It is the third non engineering college in Bengal to become autonomous. Other two are St Xavier’s College Kolkata (1860) and Ramkrishna Mission College Narendarpur Kolkata (1960).
While thanking the West Bengal government for granting autonomous status, Father Thadathil, who is principal of the Salesian College Sonada and Siliguri for the past 22 years, said, “Being the first college in North Bengal to be autonomous, we now have the task of being trail blazer in higher education standards.”
The Salesian College, with its campuses in Siliguri since 2009 and Sonada in Darjeeling district is a government recognized, minority educational institution of the Catholic Church, managed by the Calcutta province of the Salesians.
Currently some 2,100 students do their Arts/Humanities, Commerce, Science and professional courses under the North Bengal University from 24 departments in Undergraduate Honors Courses as well as Post Graduate Courses in English, Education and Psychology.
Another 400 plus students pursue Under graduate studies in 10 courses in Sonada campus, Darjeeling.
The academic community is led by a team of 10 Salesians in management and 104 faculty members.
The college having completed 3 NAAC accreditation cycles have retained “A” grade in the last two, and is now gearing up for fourth cycle. The college has retained two rounds of its status as college with potential for excellence.