A 23-year-old college in the hilly hamlet of Mirik has finally got permanent affiliation with North Bengal University (NBU), much to the joy of faculty members, students and residents.
There are 600 students at the institution which offers undergraduate courses in English, Nepali, history, geography and political science.
“We have given the permanent affiliation to Mirik College. It was a longstanding demand. But the reason that delayed the process is because the college did not have its own land. Recently, they got ownership of the land. We
conducted an inspection and granted the affiliation to them on August 5,” said Debasish Datta, the inspector of colleges of NBU.
Though the college was set up 23 years ago, it has only a temporary affiliation with NBU, the oldest and largest university in north Bengal.
Sources said the college is spread over a three-acre plot at Kawlay in ward six of the Mirik municipality. The land belonged to state tourism and the forest department when the institution was set up.
The college authority approached the departments and in March this year, the land was handed over to them by the state government.
“It is a major development for us. We were unable to introduce more UG courses or approach the UGC for grants and NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) accreditation. We can now appoint more faculty members at the institution,” said Nima Lama, the teacher-in-charge of the college.
There are only 10 teachers in the college currently.
The residents of Mirik town and surrounding areas said that a permanent
affiliation with NBU and the introduction of more courses would open new avenues for the students. There are 14 higher secondary schools in and around Mirik and most students are from humble backgrounds.
“Most of them cannot afford to move out to study UG courses in other places. They had to either stop studying or opt for the five humanities courses that are available at the college. Now, they can study in different streams right here in Mirik,” said a resident.
