Prabhu Jagatbandhu College

Prabhu Jagatbandhu College, popularly known as Andul College, is situated on the bank of once famous river, The Saraswati. Nearly five decades ago on 15th August 1964 this college was founded only as result of a long-cherished aspiration of thousands of education conscious people of very old and culturally rich localities of Jhorehat, Andul and Mouri. This college has been named after Sri Sri Prabhu Jagatbandhu, a saint in the true sense of the term. Even today there are a great number of his devotees. One of the devotees, Dr. Tinkari Ghosh,MBBS gifted some of his land and a building to start the college. This self-effacing man ensured that no hint of his generosity should be publicized. An organizing committee comprising Principal Bijoy Krishna Bhattacharyya, Prof. Bipin Krishna Ghosh, Sri Bijoyananda Chatterjee, Dr. Renu Bhusan Chatterjee and Sri Harigopal Bhattacharyya (Secretary) was set up to run the–college.The dream of the college could not have culminated into reality but for the voluntary donation by the education loving people of the locality, raised by the untiring, selfless benevolent group under the name of ‘Karmi Sangha’. Later on the Science Building was constructed with the money and materials donated by generous Surath Mohan Paul. Dr. T. K. Ghosh made a gift to the college some of his landed property and Surath Mohan also executed a trust deed between N. C. Paul (Bricks) Pvt. Ltd. and the college making in a perennial source of income-of-the-college. Decades later, on the western side of the campus, the building was constructed under the scheme of MPLAD fund of Hon’ble M.P. Mr. Swadesh Ranjan Chakraborty . Mr. Chakraborty further allotted Rs. Ten lakhs from the same fund for setting up computer facilities in the college. The first President, founder secretary and the first Principal of the college were Mr. Saila Kumar Mukherjee, Ex-Finance Minister, Govt. of West Bengal, Harigopal Bhattacharyya, an eminent scholar of the locality and Prof. Banibhusan Dasgupta, respectively. The entire process of establishing this much needed college in a semi-urban, scheduled caste constituency was executed with the blessings of Prof. Bijoy Krishna Bhattacharyya, an eminent educationist on 31st December, 1963. The second principal of the college was Dr. Biswanath Ghosh, who successfully guided the college up to December, 1993. From January 1994 to July 1997 in the absence of a regular principal, the college was run under the able guidance of two teachers-in-charge Dr. Shyamal Kumar Sengupta, (January to August 1994), and Dr. Santosh Kumar Chakraborty, (September to July 1997). Prof. Kalachand Saha took over as the third principal of the college in August ‘97. During his tenure( till November 2006) the college prospered under his leadership. After him the college was run under the able guidance of Dr. Prajna Maitra as Teacher in charge from whom Dr. Ajit Kumar Bera took the charge of the college as Principal for the period 11.02.2009 to 15.01.2010. From then onwards in absence of a Principal, Dr. Prajna Moitra (till July 2010), Dr.Asok Kr. Das (August 2010 to January 2011), Prof. Mukul Saha (February to October 2011) and Prof. Aparna Dutta Basu (November 2011 to July 2012) have steered the college successfully to the best of their abilities as Teachers-in-charge. Presently, Dr. Sarada Mandal is at the helm as Teacher-in-charge. Though this co-educational college was started in the humble way, it withstood all the difficulties and has now become one of the leading colleges in Howrah District. All credit goes to the students, teaching and non-teaching staff of the college. From the very inception of this college, a unique tradition of cordial relationship among students, teaching and non-teaching staff still exists which very few colleges can boast of. The college has an attractive campus view with four buildings forming an almost rectangular structural pattern around a lush green ground surrounded by a concrete road. Adequate infrastructure facilities are available for the current load, and its growth has kept pace with academic expansion. Enough well-ventilated classrooms, separate common rooms for the teaching and non-teaching staffs as well as for boys and girls, sufficient restrooms, a health care centre, and a subsidized canteen all in concert with a large play-ground create a wonderful campus in an impoverished, rural setting. The intercom system ensures convenient communication. A computerized financial and admission system constitute best practices in administration. Everything finds optimum utilization for a 2300 strong student population. Our admission process is thoroughly transparent. Although the basic selection is strictly on merit, students of backward communities are privileged to find reserved quotas set aside for them. They also enjoy financial support, as do students from poor families, from the Student Aid Fund of the college to partake of the gifts of higher education. The College has introduced eleven Honours subjects: Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, Bengali, History, Philosophy, Geography, Political Science, English, Economics and Accounting & Finance together with General courses in Bengali, English, Philosophy, Political Science, Economics, History, Geography, Physical Education, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electronics and Botany. Teachers interact with students and parents tirelessly, whether to help the slow learners or to offer academic guidance, in addition to tutorials and remedial classes. Our academic calendar and modularized syllabi promote maximum success, as do the open access library system and the departmental libraries. Interactive sessions after regular classes help to enhance the learning process. All the Science Departments have well-equipped laboratories as the fundamental unit of the curriculum.