Named after the wife of then governor of Bengal, Lady Brabourne College is a popular women’s arts and science college in the City of Joy. It was an initiative to encourage education among Muslim women who were discriminated by the Hindu-run Bethune College. It started off in 1939 with 35 Muslim students and nine faculty members in a rented house near Park Circus in erstwhile Calcutta and soon moved to its current location. The vision of the college has expanded since then to accommodate other backward classes and deserving students.
The college is a NAAC accredited ‘A’ Grade institute (2006) and has been granted the Centre of Potential for Excellence status by UGC. In 2010, it was also selected for the Fund for Improvement of Science and Technology by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India — pure sciences departments stand to gain from this grant. Lady Brabourne would receive `50 lakh over five years to upgrade infrastructure in the departments of botany, chemistry, geography, mathematics, microbiology, physics and zoology. Recently, the college also received a grant of `50 lakh from Department of Biotechnology for developing quality education environment.
Spread out over 6.1 acres, the college is affiliated to University of Calcutta and funded by the Government of West Bengal. It offers UG, PG, PhD and several self-financing courses. They have 21 UG departments and five PG departments — physics, maths, microbiology, geography and English. The college offers honours courses in 19 streams — six in languages, four in social sciences and nine in sciences. The college has 92 full-time teachers and 24 part-time teachers. The college has around 1,500 students, with a non-political students union, a rarity in West Bengal.
Prof Siuli Sarkar, the principal of the college, is proud of her students. Having been associated with the college as professor of political science since 1986 and as principal for two-and-a-half years, she says, “Our students are doing very well in India and abroad and so are the teachers, engaged in research, lab work and also in assisting me with administration. Lady Brabourne is number one under University of Calcutta, so we have very good students applying to the courses offered by us.”
Challenges
Prof Sarkar says, “Democratising and remodelling the hostel was top priority when I joined. It was a challenge for me and I have been successful to some extent. Now we have a residential superintendent with a strong committee and an active students group. Hostel facilities are available for around 200 students. We have remodelled and updated our college website as well.” Since the institute is bereft of any political flavour or activity, parents prefer to send their wards here. Students also immerse themselves in extracurricular activities throughout the year.
Future Plans
The principal says, “Our plans involve building a new block for PG students, named after Rama Choudhury, our first principal. The only hiccup is the shortage of funds. We also want to introduce PG courses in subjects like zoology, botany, chemistry, history — departments that are doing very well. We also need more teachers, as some posts remain vacant, which we have applied for.”
She continues, “My dream will come true with more teachers and departments. This is a very able college. But the space and teacher constraint is restrictive for us. We are relying on UGC and state government grants.”
The alumni association has offered to take charge of the campus gardens. A teacher from the zoology department has gotten a project from UGC to develop a butterfly garden around the hostel. In 2011, a psychological counselling cell was set up to help students overcome pressures and tensions. A very friendly student-teacher relationship exists in the college as well.
Students at Lady Brabourne College are encouraged to engage themselves in various co-curricular activities for overall personality development. They showcase their talents at the annual inter-college festival, Kaleidoscope, which they organise on their own to a great extent. Students at Lady Brabourne echo a common view, “We feel at home — our teachers are free with us and approachable. The environment is tension-free without any politics. We are able to concentrate on our studies better.” For more on the college, visit www.ladybrabourne.com
— preethi@newindianexpress.com
