Centenary Celebration

Mr. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee
President of India
Speech of the President at the inauguration of the Centenary Building of
Asutosh College, April 1, 2015

I am happy to join you for the inauguration of this Centenary Building of Asutosh College, which is one of the oldest academic institutes in West Bengal. This college was set up in 1916 as the South Suburban College. It was founded under the stewardship of Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, when he was the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta. When Sir Asutosh passed away in 1924, the college was renamed after him.

Asutosh College is completing one hundred fruitful years. I congratulate you all for this significant milestone. Since its inception, Asutosh College has transformed the lives of thousands of students. It has continued to grow academically and has expanded through the introduction of new campuses and blocks. The Centenary Building is an important addition to its growing educational infrastructure. These facilities have made it possible for this College to offer education to over four thousand students today, in 27 disciplines comprising science, arts and management streams. I applaud its progress through the years and at the same time urge everyone associated with this institution to continue moving forward with vigor and clarity of vision.

The pain and sweat of many have gone into what this Institute is today. Teachers of Asutosh College, through their sincerity and commitment, have contributed to its development over the years. On this occasion, I salute the entire teaching community, past and present, for their hard work and sacrifices.

Friends:

The progress of our nation is contingent on the motivation, initiative and energy of our youth. India has the largest population of the young in the world. More than half of the total population of 125 crore is below the age of 25 years. The proportion of working age population between 15 and 59 years is increasing, with 63.5 million being added likely to this group between 2011 and 2016. Within a decade, India will have the world’s largest workforce, which will account for two-third of her population. To reap this impending demographic dividend, we have to make them educationally sound and socially sensitive.

Education is the means for development of mental faculty and procurement of decent human life. A sustained education programme can alleviate the lot of the common man leaving no segment of the population behind. Recognizing this, we inserted Article 21-A in our Constitution through The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 to make provision of free and compulsory education of all children between six and fourteen years a Fundamental Right. Article 21-A and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, to give effect to the Constitutional amendment, came into force in April 2010. On account of legislative and other measures, a sweeping change is taking place in terms of enhanced reach of education in our country. The higher education sector has to gear itself to meet the scholastic needs of an increasing number of youth in the near future.

Friends:

A concerted effort is underway to boost the higher educational infrastructure. There are now 713 universities and over 36,000 colleges in India. The density of education institutions has increased from 10 to 14 institutions per 1,000 square kilometers during the Eleventh Plan period. Even then, higher academic institutions are conspicuous by their absence in many parts of our country. This in effect has led to the denial of education to many promising students who reside in remote areas. The consequences are disturbing. India has the second largest tertiary education system in the world with a total enrolment of over 20.7 million. Yet, the gross enrolment ratio at the tertiary level is about 20 in India. In comparison, it is 95 in US, 76 in Russia, 26 in China and 28 in Mexico.

Greater access to education, especially in far-flung regions, is the need of the hour. Accessibility and affordability are crucial for an inclusive education system. To make education affordable for meritorious students belonging to socio-economically difficult backgrounds, initiatives like scholarships and self-help schemes are necessary. An education system that takes care of the needs of the entire population will not only boost the enrolment ratio but also lead to a significant rise in the number of bright minds produced.

Friends:

We live in an increasingly globalised world. If we, as a nation, have to successfully interact in this great melting pot, we have to develop a global mindset in our students. Good education is the essential step for creating such a frame of mind. Hence alongside proliferation of educational opportunities, upgrading the quality of education to global standards is important. An all-round development of our educational institutions is a priority that we can hardly afford to miss. Availability of quality teachers is paramount. Unfortunately, our educational institutions are short of good faculty. This hampers the delivery of quality instruction. Adequate attention is therefore necessary to create a large pool of good quality and committed teachers who are entrusted with the responsibility to shape the next generation.
There is need to propagate the use of technology in the dispensation of education. A fast digitalizing world holds scope to usher in far-reaching changes in pedagogy and teaching-learning structures. Massive Open Online Courses have come up in a big way that has the potential to change the education landscape. Our higher educational institutions would do well to take note of these evolutionary trends in education.

Rejuvenating the higher education sector will require all its components to move in tandem. If universities are the taproots of the higher education system, colleges are its lifeblood. A very large chunk of students - about 87 per cent - are enrolled in affiliated colleges in the country. Our colleges have to be proactive to absorb holistic changes in higher education to address the needs of today's aspirational youth.

Friends:

The students are the core of this College. They are the ripening fruits of its intellectual enterprise. Their success in professional and personal lives will be a sign of validation for the educational philosophy espoused by this hallowed institution. Remember to never gauge success in the dubious scales of money. Success is in the number of lives that you will touch, in the positives that you will help usher in the society. So, be useful to the society and the country, only then you will find your education useful. It is human nature to seek truth and happiness. These should be your barometers of pursuit.

I once again congratulate Asutosh College for all its successes. May you achieve greater heights in the future. I conclude by wishing you all the very best for your Centenary celebrations.

Thank you

Jai Hind

Centenary Report

While the prelude of the centennial celebrations was set to tune on l April, 2015, by the  inauguration of our Centenary Building at Kalighat Road, by the Hon'ble President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, and the release of the Centenary DVD a documentary film by the Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal, Shri K. N. Tripathi, the inception of the year-long jubilations was marked by a colourful Probhatpheri on 17July, 2015, that made its way from the magnificent Main Building on S. P. Mookerjee Road, touched the milestone buildings of the college including the Asutosh College Training Centre (ACTC) and the Humanities Block on Basanta Bose Road, the Centenary Building on Kalighat Road, before completing its journey from where it had begun, the Main Building. The galaxy of former students, many of whom have carved out a niche in their respective fields, added to the grandeur of this Sobhajatra. Former members of the academic and support staff, oblivious of their age and physical health, joined the procession, encouraging current students and staff who were brimming with joy and excitement. Among our many well-wishers that day we had Sri Chittatosh Mookerjee, former Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and grandson of our Founder, Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, the Higher education Minister, Dr. Partha Chatterjee, and Sri Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the then Chief Whip, Vidhan Sabha, both alumni of the college.

The start was thrilling and full of promise for things to take shape in the centennial. However, it is a fact undeniable that the most fitting way of celebrating the centenary of an academic institution is through organizing seminars, lectures and symposia throughout the year, besides continuing with regular academic activities, and that was exactly the way in which our students and teachers paid homage to their forebears. Through participation as listeners and as speakers in learned discussions, debates and discourses organized in the centenary year in which scholars of national and international repute were the initiators, students and teachers have been greatly enriched. Most of these programmes were held in the 'smart classroom' and electronically equipped lecture/seminar hall in the Centenary Building.

Fresh air was also breathed into the Annual College Sports where eminent sports personalities like Manas Bhattacharya, Prasanta Banerjee, Biswarup Dey some of them college alumni came and participated.

To complement these activities, most of them purely academic short-term programmes, the college also undertook some long-term projects in the Second Campus in the form of eco-friendly initiatives related to the key demand of protecting the environment: Rainwater harvesting, Solar Power and Biogas generation setups, Aquaculture, and a Medicinal Plants' Garden. Departments like Geography, Physics, Electronics, Environmental Sciences, Industrial Fish and Fisheries, and Botany are responsible for coordinating these efforts to make our Second Campus a truly 'Green Campus'. Their success in this endeavour is worth applauding. Projects like Green Lighting, construction of mudhouses, use of zero emission vehicles in and around the campus, generating biodiesel, developing integrated farming methods, ensuring a plastic-free zone will also be our priorities in the coming years. Infrastructural developments in the centenary year include completion of the construction of the Centenary Gate, Girls' and Boys' Hostels and the Guest House in the Second Campus.

To make an apposite close to the yearlong celebrations on July 17, 2016, a Centenary Lecture has been arranged. Prof. Ratna Ghosh of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, has been invited to deliver this lecture on the issue of 'Inclusive Education' which also happens to be our motto in the centenary year. The Hon'ble Governor of West Bengal, Shri K. N. Tripathi, will release the commemorative College Centenary volume, Centennial, and the journal, Vista, in which the faculty members have contributed. Last, but not the least, ten of our alumni, 'Asutoshians', who have excelled in various fields of life will be felicitated by a junior group of Asutoshians, former students who have followed the trail of their seniors. The junior Asutoshians will welcome the senior Asutoshians with the Centenary memento and the Centenary Uttariyo designed by the well-known artist, Sri Ramananda Bandyopadhyay. Former teachers of the college were also ceremonially welcomed with the Uttariyo at the Annual Get-together of the faculty Tea Club on 23 December, 2015. A centenary logo was designed by Sri Tanmoy Mridha which we used in all the correspondences throughout the Centenary year.

Our concerted effort, we hope, will lead us to our goal of equity, excellence, expansion and employability.

Asutosh College Centenary Celebration Committee

Centenary Celebration Sub-Committees

Correspondence & Invitation Sub-Committee

Felicitation Sub-Committee

Press & Media Sub-Committee

Building Beautification Sub-Committee

Seminar / Symposium Sub-Committee

Reception Sub-Committee

Decoration Sub-Committee

Sports and Games Sub-Committee