Vidyasagar University
Vidyasagar University was established by an Act of the West Bengal legislature which was notified in the Calcutta Gazette on 24 June 1981. It is an affiliating university in Paschim Medinipur district of southern West Bengal, India. It offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.
It was founded by the mathematician and statistician from the University of Cambridge, Anil Kumar Gain.
History
; Vice chancellors- Bhupesh Chandra Mukherjee, 1981–1986
- Birendra Nath Goswami, 1986-1996
- Jyotirmoy Pal Chaudhuri, 1996-2000
- Manas Kumar Chattopadhyay
- Manoranjan Maiti
- Satya Narayan Ghosh
- Amiya Kumar Dev
- Ananda Deb Mukhopadhyay
- Swapan Kumar Pramanick
- Nanda Dulal Paria
- Ranjan Chakrabarti
Vidyasagar University, named after one of the most illustrious sons of Bengal as well as one of the doyens of Indian Renaissance, Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, has grown out of a long cultural and education movement in West Bengal in general and in the undivided district of Midnapore in particular.
A short history of Vidyasagar University is written by a faculty of the Anthropology Department in Bengali which was published in January 2001 from Kolkata. In this book the author being one of the founder teachers of the university narrated the missions of the institution as well as the deviations and the future possibilities in the context of globalization.
Prof. Anil Kumar Gayen: Founder
Anil Kumar Gayen, FRS was an Indian mathematician and statistician best known for his works on the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient in the field of applied statistics, with his colleague Sir Ronald Fisher. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Henry Ellis Daniels, who was the president of the Royal Statistical Society. He was honoured as a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and the famous Cambridge Philosophical Society.Gayen was the president of the Statistics section of the Indian Science Congress Association, as well as the head of the Department of Mathematics at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. He went on to found Vidyasagar University, naming it after the famous social reformer of the Bengali Renaissance, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.
Gayen dedicated the later years of his life towards the establishment of Vidyasagar University as a non-traditional institution of higher education in the erstwhile Medinipur district of the West Bengal state in India. Professor Anil Kumar Gayen’s vision was clearly reflected in the Vidyasagar University Act of 1981 wherein among others, it was stated that the "University shall have the power to make such academic studies as may contribute to the improvement of economic conditions and welfare of the people in general and the tribal people in particular"
The Ghani Committee appointed by the U.G.C. suggested, among others, setting up of a university in Midnapore on the ground of its ‘having a compact area and a manageable number of colleges’, and of its ‘having the great advantage of co-operation of the IIT, Kharagpur. The committee was also of the opinion that the new University would develop on the lines suited to the needs of this backward area. The recognition of Gayen as the founder of Vidyasagar University was belated. After three decades of its establishment in the Seventh Executive Council meeting held on 04.05.2012 based on the proposal of a professor of Anthropology a committee was formed to honour the founder of the university.
Establishment
Following the approval of UGC, the Government of West Bengal decided in 1978 to establish Vidyasagar University and, in consultation with the U.G.C., the State Government appointed a Planning Committee in March 1979 to lay down the lines of development and to take initial steps to found the university. The committee submitted its report in October. Then the Vidyasagar University Act, 1981 was passed in the State Legislative Assembly. Professor Bhupesh Chandra Mukherjee, a former teacher of History of the then Presidency College, Kolkata, joined as the first vice chancellor on 29 September 1981. Professor B.C. Mukherjee wrote an article in the Journal of Higher Education in which he stated the mission and objectives of Vidyasagar University and mentioned the name of the founder of VU—Professor Anil Kumar Gain.Academic activities started when through a Notification issued by the State Government, 30 colleges of the District of Midnapore were affiliated to the Vidyasagar University with effect from 1 June 1985. The foundation stone of the main campus was laid on 18 July 1983 by the Hon’ble Chancellor of the university and governor of West Bengal, B.D. Pande. On 15 January 1986, it was inaugurated by Shri Jyoti Basu, the then chief minister of West Bengal.
On 16 January classes commenced in six post graduate departments: Anthropology, Applied Mathematics with Oceanology and Computer Programming, Commerce with Farm Management, Economics with Rural Development, Library and Information Science, Political Science with Rural Administration.
The U.G.C. accorded recognition to the university in terms of Section 12B of the U.G.C. Act, on 1 March 1990. The university houses 27 PG departments, 12 in Humanities and 15 in Science while 46 undergraduate colleges apart from 11 courses in yet 11 other colleges / institutes are affiliated to it. Fourteen vocational subjects and six other specialized courses are offered at the UG level. The overall emphasis of the university is not to perpetuate the traditional nature of the other universities of West Bengal but to merge as a distinctive entity with a special nature of its own. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council awarded Vidyasagar University a three-star status.
The campus has a picturesque background within which afforestation programmes are being undertaken.
Mission statement
The university was established with a mission to provide an answer to the education needs of the region. It provides ethnic, sociocultural, geographical along with mainstream education. The university logo with the motto Education, Knowledge, Progress embodies the mission.Total area
The total area of university campuses in the semi-rural areas is. It may be distributed as:- Main Campus:
- Residential Campus:
- Third plot: The third plotwhich was given by the district administration was taken back since the university could not use it for its purpose.
Organisation
Academics
The faculties of Vidyasagar University and its vice-chancellors have written and edited a books on subjects mainly by availing financial grant from the UGC Unassigned grant scheme.The academic departments have been publishing journals. There are two multidisciplinary journals: one published by the biological science departments and the other by the physical science departments.
Faculties and Departments
Vidyasagar University has 29 departments organized into two faculties: Science and Arts & Commerce.Faculty of Science
This faculty consists of the departments of Applied Mathematics with Oceanology and Computer Programming, Aquaculture Management & Technology, Anthropology, Botany and Forestry, Biomedical Laboratory Science and Technology, Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Computer Science, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Physiology and Community Health, Economics with Rural Development, Electronics, Geography and Environment Management, Physics and Technophysics, Microbiology, Remote Sensing & GIS, and ZoologyFaculty of Arts and Social Science
This faculty consists of the departments of Bengali, English, History, Political Science with Rural Administration, Philosophy and Lifeworld, Library and Information Science, Sanskrit, Sociology, Mass Communication and Videography, Santali, and Hindi as well.Faculty of Commerce
This faculty consists the departments of Commerce with Farm Management, and Master of Business Administration.Centres
- University Scientific Instrumentation Centre
- Gandhian Study Centre
- Social Research Center
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Admission
For research level programs, the aspirants have to sit for a qualifying test followed by an interview. It is mandatory that they secure at least 55% marks in their post graduate level examination.
If the aspirants qualify the all India examination like NET, GATE, SET then their admission in Ph.D is only based on interview.
Distance education
Vidyasagar University has a Directorate of Distance Education for conducting post graduate studies in distance mode. This is for people who cannot undergo post graduate studies in regular mode. The DDE, VU is on the main campus.It was established in 1994 and started offering correspondence courses in postgraduate subjects from the session 1994-1995. Candidates pursuing distance learning courses are provided with study materials in modules on topics prescribed in the syllabus. The Directorate of Distance Education organises the Personal Contact Programme for interaction with leading academic experts in the subjects who give counselling and advice rather than classroom lectures. PCPs are held ordinarily during Summer Recess, Puja Recess and Winter Recess and on holidays. Courses of distance education in the university are approved by the University Grants Commission and the Distance Education Council.