Balurghat, Sept. 9 -- The West Bengal Higher Education Department has granted in-principle approval to Dakshin Dinajpur University for introducing seven new postgraduate courses, expanding its academic offerings in the humanities, sciences and social sciences.
According to an official letter issued by the department on September 8, the university can introduce postgraduate programmes in Bengali, History, Sanskrit, Chemistry, Education, Philosophy and Geography. Each course will have an approved intake of 50 students, potentially adding 350 postgraduate seats.
The approval follows a proposal submitted by the university to the Higher Education Department on June 14, 2021. The department said the decision was taken with the consent of the competent authority.
The proposed courses are expected to provide students in Dakshin Dinajpur with greater access to postgraduate education closer to home. The university will now have to make the necessary academic and administrative arrangements before launching the programmes. The communication was addressed to the Vice-Chancellor of Dakshin Dinajpur University, with copies sent to the Registrar (Additional Charge), the Private Secretary to the Higher Education Minister and the Senior Personal Secretary to the Additional Chief Secretary.
University Vice-Chancellor Pranab Ghosh said the institution had been pursuing the matter with the state government for several years.
"We had sent a letter to the Higher Education Department seeking the introduction of new courses and had also sent reminders. Recently, during the administrative meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Balurghat, I raised the issue again. The Chief Minister had assured me that the matter would be considered. On Tuesday evening, we received the letter from the Higher Education Department," Ghosh said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.