Presidency University of Kolkata is amongst the oldest college present in the country. The college has a great history. It was started as the Hindu College in 1817. Later on in 1855 the British christened the college as the Presidency College. It was in the year 2010 that the then ruling Left Front government decided to promote the college to becoming the Presidency University.
It has been the pinnacle of education in Kolkata for a very long time. Being the most reputed college it has held its heritage over the years. Many well known people have been associated with this college for many years. Recently the college held its first convocation since it became a university in 2010. It was a grand event that was attended by the governor of the state as well.
M. K. Narayanan also happens to be the chancellor of the college. He said that the latest methods of teaching that has been adopted by the Presidency University are good but even these new methods need a bit of correction to be done. He was certain that the past methods were primitive and they had to go. They had to get rid of the previous teaching methods.
He also emphasized on the fact that the new methods of teaching were not flawless. There were a lot of flaws in the current methods as well. The present teaching methods were laying too much stress on the foreign methods. It was good to follow the western culture but to mimic them completely would be a disgrace to the education system of the country. He made his point very clear.
This is a place where great people like Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Subhas Chandra Bose, Marxist leader Jyoti Basu and Satyajit Ray studied. These are men of honor who have taken Indians to the global arena. These were people who changed the face of the country with their wisdom talent and dedication towards their work.
The governor still believes that the college has the resources to produce the best minds in the country. He said that if India was to become the science centre of the world then the students had to be good. The teaching methods could not be tangled with. This university has attracted people from all over the country and overseas.
The college has the best Physics and Mathematics department across the country. It would be hard to see the teaching methods of the new times affecting the level of education the college has been providing over the years.
He said that he was not ready to accept the changes of the modern times. He would prefer to teach the students in the old way to get them shaped up to face the challenges of the world. If that can be done then the country will be able to produce the best scientists across the globe that will make the country proud. Bikash Sinha who is an eminent physicist was also present at the event.