Click to play videoKolkata: The West Bengal Assembly has passed a bill to upgrade the country's oldest college, Presidency College, to a university, fulfilling a the decades old demand for the institution's full autonomy.
Celebrations broke out as the Presidency College in Kolkata finally got the approval to be a university.
For those who have been campaigning long and hard, it's the first hurdle crossed in making Presidency regain its erstwhile pride.
"It has to go through the required infrastructure developments and all the funding," says a student.
"I am glad that I am still in college while this has been passed and I'm in my second year. So yeah, we are all very happy," says another student.
The Presidency boasts illustrious alumni like Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and even Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
But the two-century old institution has seen a steady decline over the years.
The CPI-M is claiming full credit for pushing the Presidency University Bill through.
"We have done it in a reasonably short and appropriate time," says West Bengal Higer Education Minister Sudarsan Raychaudhuri.
But the Opposition alleges it's a move to make Presidency a red bastion. It has even appealed to the Governor not to ratify the bill.
"It is to make this university, Presidency University another replica of other universities which became the nerve centres of CPI-M politics in our state," claims Congress Legislative Party leader Manas Bhuniya.
Many say that the upgraded status of Presidency will only mark the beginning of a roller coaster ride in the institution's strive for academic excellence and restored glory.
What's important is to ensure that considerations other than academic are kept at bay and talents only related to education are recognised.
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