Dr. Sharmila Mitra, principal of Behala College.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Think of education in Kolkata and it is usually names such as Jadavpur and Presidency that spring up in the mind, but a hitherto not-so-famous college has emerged as a big name in the field by becoming autonomous — the only non-religious, non-minority and State-aided institution in the city today to enjoy that status.
It was on July 28 that the Behala College formally received the conferment of autonomous status from the University Grants Commission (UGC), having submitted the application a year ago. The college appears to have remained quite updated, even running a course including Drone Pilot Training, which it calls the “subject of the day.”
Principal Sharmila Mitra, towards the centre, at a Drone Pilot Training class in Behala College.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
“Academic autonomy gives space to the college in all aspects: for conducting academic programmes outside the purview of the parent university, for framing new courses for promoting excellence. It empowers students to take the lead in their learning to increase engagement, motivation and deeper understanding. They develop critical thinking skills and are better prepared for a complex changing world. Placement becomes much more effective,” Sharmila Mitra, principal of the co-ed college said.
Behala College was established in 1963 and today the student count is more than 2,000. Dr. Mitra herself has been associated with it for more than 38 years, serving as its head for 12.
About drone pilot training, the principal said it was aligned with Defence Studies, a degree — and later as a certificate — course the college has been running for 25 years now. “Our own faculty plus faculty from IIT takes the class. We arrange internship programmes under the NEP. We have an R&D section in collaboration with a concern in Assam,” she said.
“With the institution now free to design its own curriculum and to schedule its own evaluation process, there is ample scope for collaboration with industry and go ahead with subjects such as Applied Microbiology; Geoinformatics; Data & Analytics; Cyber Security & Digital Forensic; Mathematics & Computing,” Dr. Mitra added.
She called the achievement a dream come true and quickly reminded that the college deserved it, having scored A++ with 3.58 CGPA in the NAAC rating.
“More importance will be given now to research and development and to placements of students by running portals that will groom them for entry in service. We are also eager to start a three-year law course as well,” Dr. Mitra said.
Published – July 30, 2025 12:03 pm IST
