St Xavier’s College, Burdwan gets autonomy from University Grants Commission
Telegraph | 24 February 2026
St Xavier’s College, Burdwan, has been granted autonomous status by the University Grants Commission.
The college, established in 2014 and affiliated with Burdwan University, will be the first college under the university to get autonomy.
The Jesuit college had applied to the UGC for autonomy last November.
The approval came on February 20, said Father G. Paul Arokiam, the principal of the college.
According to the principal, the publication of undergraduate results under Burdwan University was usually delayed. Students suffered while applying for postgraduate courses.
The autonomy will empower St Xavier’s College, Burdwan, to introduce courses in emerging areas, such as AI.
A letter from UGC joint secretary R. Manoj Kumar to the college and the university’s registrar says: “The commission in its meeting held on 30.01.2026, has approved the recommendation of the standing committee on autonomous colleges, to confer the autonomous status to St Xavier’s College, Burdwan... affiliated to University of Burdwan for a period of 05 years from the academic year 2026-27 to 2030-31 as per clause 7.4 of the UGC. The university is, therefore, requested to issue the necessary notification within 30 days regarding the grant of autonomous status to the college.”
St Xavier’s College, Park Street, was the first college in Bengal to gain autonomy in 2006. Until then, the college was affiliated with Calcutta University.
The college in Burdwan’s Sreepally got the autonomous status days after Loreto College on Middleton Row, another missionary institution, applied for autonomy from Calcutta University.
Scottish Church College is set to apply for autonomy.
In July 2025, Behala College, a government-aided college affiliated with CU, became autonomous.
Father Paul told Metro on Monday: “We wanted a lot of freedom, which would help us introduce courses in the emerging areas. If we introduce courses beyond traditional ones, like AI and machine learning, we can attract bright students. That’s why we applied for the autonomy.”
“The delay in publication of results for which our students are suffering was also one of the factors. Now we can set questions and publish results at our own space,” he said.
Vishal Maheshwari, a teacher in the college, said that over the past two years, the undergraduate final semester results were published in September. “Our students struggled to secure admission for master’s programmes because of the delay,” he said.
At present, 68 colleges are affiliated with Burdwan University. Without St Xavier’s, the number will come down to 67.
The college offers graduation in arts, science and commerce, and has 750 students.
An education department official in Calcutta stated that affiliated colleges across the state were increasingly opting for autonomous status. The competition with private colleges was getting tougher every year, as they were offering courses in emerging areas.
“They can compete only when they have the flexibility to offer something new. Autonomy grants them that liberty. Or else the colleges will start losing out on students,” the official said.
There are five autonomous colleges in Bengal other than St Xavier’s College, Burdwan. They are: St Xavier’s, Calcutta, Behala College and three colleges under the Ramakrishna Mission.