Om Prakash Mishra, the vice-chancellor of North Bengal University (NBU), will visit the Darjeeling Hill University (DHU) in Mungpoo, some 56km from here, on November 7, for a meeting with heads of different colleges of the hills, representatives of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and the Darjeeling district administration to discuss on various issues pertaining to the varsity.
Along with the NBU, Mishra holds additional charge as the VC of the hill varsity.
On September 28, he joined as the interim VC of the NBU. This will be his first visit to the hill varsity running from the Mungpoo ITI College building on a temporary basis. Construction work for the permanent building of DHU is also in progress at a separate site in the tiny hill hamlet that is also known for the famous bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore.
“I will hold a meeting with the administration, principals of hill colleges and coordinators of various courses to know the current situation at the varsity. Representatives of GTA will be there. Our priority is to resolve pending issues and work together so that DHU starts operating in a full-fledged manner,” said the VC.
He said that in the hill, postgraduate courses are taught in some of the colleges.
“We will ask the teachers to support the varsity so that those in PG courses can also gain,” Mishra added.
As of now, postgraduate courses in six subjects — Nepali, history, English, political science, mathematics and mass communications — are taught at the DHU.
In the hills, there is a steady demand that courses on tea science, tea and tourism, natural resources and sustainable development, hospitality management, data science and business analytics, fashion, and microbial science be introduced at the DHU.
“Students in hills want these subjects to be taught that can help them gain employment in this region,” said a source.
Pranab Ghosh, the registrar of the NBU, who has additional charge of the DHU like Mishra, said the admission has closed for the current academic year.
“However, new subjects may be added in the next academic year, based on decisions made by the varsity authorities,” he said.
