Gauhati University

About Gauhati University

Gauhati University was established by an act of the State Legislature, namely, the Gauhati University Act 1947 (Assam Act, XVI of 1947), of the Government of Assam in the year 1948. The University is funded by the University Grants Commission and the Government of Assam. Besides, various agencies of the Central and State Government provide various grants and assistance for Research and other Academic activities. The University is in its 58th year existence, and is the oldest, largest, and the most premier seat of higher education in the entire North Eastern Region of India. It was indeed a dream come true for thousands of people of Assam who had relentlessly agitated for decades for an institute of higher education in the province when Gauhati University was established on 26 January, 1948. For a long time, the only university in the entire eastern region was at Calcutta. This university catered to the needs not only of the students from Bengal but also of those from Bihar, Orissa and Assam. Naturally, therefore, seats for students from Assam were extremely limited and very often even meritorious students found themselves ousted in the fray. Over the years, this had caused resentment among the educated Assamese youth and the necessity of a separate university began to be acutely felt.

Soon after the capital shifted to Delhi in 1911, Bihar and Orissa acquired their own Universities and it was then that Assam, too, put forward her claim to the Government for a separate University. The first public demand was made at the annual session of the Assam Association held at Sivasagar in 1917 when Satyanath Bora made a fervent plea in his Presidential speech for a separate University. He forcefully stated that apart from other reasons, Assam deserved an independent University for the simple reason that the Senate and Syndicate of the Calcutta University had little link with the people of Assam and as such could never identify themselves with the hopes and aspirations of the Assamese people. Satyanath Bora’s powerful speech had a tremendous impact on the Assamese intelligentsia and it was followed up by a petition to the Calcutta University Commission headed by Michael Sadler. From then onwards till 1928, representation and petitions to the Government for a separate university were presented from time to time.

The first Court meeting of the University was held on 26-1-48 at the old Sudmerson Hall of Cotton College, Guwahati. Accordingly the date '26 January' is observed as the Foundation Day of Gauhati University. Thanks to the relentless and untiring efforts of a band of dedicated workers like Gopinath Bordoloi (the first Chief Minister of Assam. He was awarded 'Bharat Ratna' posthumously), Madhab Bezbarua, Bhubaneswar Barua, Sarat Chandra Goswami, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (former President of India), and many others, and the help and co-operation of the people of Assam, the University could be established in 1948.

The University which started functioning from the city centre was shifted to the present campus in 1955-56. The objective of the University is to revitalize its educational leadership and transform the University from an institution of higher education to an institution of higher development of the intellect, the will, and the moral; through continuous self-development, collaboration and sharing of knowledge with institutions of excellence. Starting with 17 affiliated colleges and 8 Post Graduate Departments in 1948, Gauhati University, today, has 38 Post Graduate Departments and a satellite campus at Kokrajhar besides Post Graduate Correspondence School and a constituent Law College. It has 205 affiliated colleges offering undergraduate and post graduate courses in the faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Engineering and Medicine. Gauhati University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities and the Association of Commonwealth Universities

Location - The University is located at Jalukbari within the Guwahati city area. The campus has got some hillock on the southern side and the mighty river Brahmaputra is flowing on the northern side of it.

Transportation - The University is 10 kms from the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on National Highway No. 37. It is 5 kms from Kamakhya Railway Station and 10 kms from Guwahati Railway Station at the heart of Guwahati City. The capital complex of Assam at Dispur is 22 kms away from the University. The University is easily accessible from the Guwahati city, and Guwahati has road, rail and air links from all parts of the Country. A large number of bus services from various parts of Assam have their station at Adabari Bus Stand which is 2 kms away from the campus.

Constituent Institutes

1. Institute of Science and Technology
2. School of Fine Arts
3. University Law College
4. School of Fine Arts
5. University Law College

Faculty

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Science
• Faculty of Commerce
• Faculty of Law

Facilities

IDOLU - Institute of Distance and Open Learning provides both graduate and post graduate levels of programmes.

BIF - The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India has been pleased to set up Bioinformatics Infrastructure Facility (BIF) in Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam in February, 2008. The centre is a member of Northeastern Bioinformatics network (NEBInet) and Biotechnology Information System Network (BTISNet). The Centre’s facilities include dedicated lease line Internet connectivity from BSNL, DELL servers with 12 nos. of DEL PCs with LINUX and Microsoft Windows operating system, HP Printers, Xerox etc. and major Bioinformatics tools.

The Pre-Examination Training Centre - The aim of this Centre is to provide training opportunities to students pursuing full-time Post Graduate studies at Gauhati University to face various types of competitive examinations conducted by the UPSC, UGC and other Government bodies. The Training Centre conducts a one-year Regular Programme for the Civil Service Examinations, to which Students are admitted in September/October. In addition, the Centre also conducts short-term intensive courses from time to time. UGC-sponsored Courses for the weaker sections of minority communities are also conducted by the Centre. In view of the continuing demand for NET qualifications, the Centre holds classes to help students prepare for these examinations with the assistance of faculty

SLET - State Level Eligibility Test is taken by the aspiring candidates of the North Eastern Region for a post lecturer, who besides fulfilling the minimum academic qualification for it, also qualify in comprehensive test. Its member States at present are Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim and Meghalaya.

The K.K. Handiqui Library - Its total collection of reading materials, which includes text books, reference books, general books, rare books, back volume of journals, manuscripts, reports, special collections, theses and dissertations amounts to more than 3,00,000 titles. As a participating university in the University Grants Commission’s INFLIBNET programme, The K. K. Handiqui Library has been able to give its users access to nearly 3,700 journals on-line with full texts and some other journals with abstracts on the internet. In addition, e-mailing and internet browsing facilities are also available for Post Graduate students, Researchers and Faculty members.

Placement Service - Placement Services for the students of the university in a collective and organized way have started recently but have earned success. In case of certain departments, Placement Services have always existed resulting in over cent percent employments. The University is now gearing up to extend Placement Services to all the students and departments in the campus and affiliated colleges. The Placement Cell extends warm invitation to everyone concerned to carry out Recruitment Drive in the Campus for the PG students of the University. If required special arrangements can be made to make available under-graduate students from affiliated colleges as well. Any comments and suggestions maybe mailed to [email protected] or [email protected]

University Health Service - The University maintains a residential Hospital at the University Campus with a view to rendering necessary medical assistance to the students, teachers, employees and their dependants. One Ambulance Van is also maintained to meet the emergency situation at G. U. Hospital.

Career Counselling and Guidance Centre - The thought of landing a job of one’s own choice after completing the course of study is likely to go through the mind of the typical Post Graduate student. In this regard, the Centre offers suggestions on career options that are likely to be. Students are also offered advice and tips on how to prepare a Curriculum Vitae (CV) for oneself and the nature of information that potential employers are likely to look for in such a document.

The Directorate of Students’ Welfare - The office of the Director of Student Welfare deals with the Organisation of sports and extra curricular activities, beside providing other facilities for the students. The office provides facility for playing various games & sports e.g. Football, Volleyball, Cricket Badminton, Table Tennis, Hockey, Kabbadi, Basket Ball, Carrom etc. Some of the aims and objectives of the Office of the DSW are - to organize and manage Inter College and Inter University Festivals, sports and games, to organize courses of training in Games, Sports and Festivals, to award at its discretion Trophies, Mementos, Cups, Certificates or any other award on the result of the different tournaments and competitions, to take necessary steps to encourage all sporting, athletic, physical, intellectual and cultural activities among students at the University and the affiliating colleges. All sports goods are made available to the Hostels every year by this office. The Common rooms for Boys and Girls are also supplied with playing materials. Identity Cards to all bonafide students of this University are issued by the Director of Students Welfare. Railway and Air concession forms to bonafide students are also issued by this office. The University offers financial assistance to poor students out of the Poor Students Aid Fund subject to availability of fund.

Women's Studies Research Centre - The Women’s Studies Research Centre, Gauhati University is a UGC sponsored Research Centre under Gauhati University, established in 1989. This is a pioneering Research Centre in the North- Eastern Region devoted exclusively to women’s issues.

Academic Staff College - Academic Staff College were established by the UGC in pursuance of the recommendations made in the National Policy of Education, 1986. These institutions are hosted in various universities and have the responsibility of addressing the faculty development needs of teachers in Higher Education. ASCs organize, conduct, monitor and evaluate Orientation Programs, Refresher Courses and Workshops which are designed to cater to faculty at different levels in Higher Education institutions.

Achievements

The University has been awarded a 4-star (****) status by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of UGC.