Presidency University B.Sc Review By Ashok Kumar

Presidency University is one of the oldest colleges started by Britishers in India. During our time the college was affiliated with Calcutta University but has attained autonomous status in the year 2010. The course and all have changed but one thing that hasn’t is its aura. The college will stupefy you and for centuries now the college is one of the top-rated colleges of Bengal. I was a part of the main campus that has a historical layout and the college building is still a prime example of British architecture. Presidency University Kolkata Admission is for students of a certain standard only, who keeps longing for getting better and better. All the professors were highly qualified and in our days UG just had a batch of 120 students for B.Sc (Hons) divided into 2 sections. The in-take after it turned University has increased but the teaching standard and all have remained the same. My niece is studying there and when he came up to me after completion of his HSC exams, he asked me which college to choose and I without even thinking for a second recommended him the Presidency University Kolkata. The college has long been one of the best colleges in the city or for that matter the State.

The cut-off in our days was 96% and even though the students have increased the cut-off for BSC (Hons) is still near that. Only the top students have the opportunity to be a part of this prestigious college, of course, a University now has a lot more to offer than the other colleges in the city. In our days, we never used to have practical exams as only Vivas were there. Things have changed drastically and due to my niece, I have kept a check on the course and can say that the University has walked a mile extra to make sure that students get the best and required knowledge from the University.

I wish I could remember it all but as far as I can turn the wheels of my head I can proudly say that the teaching faculty was one of the best. They used to come and take the attendance and keep a note of the students who remained absent. It was a school-like structure where the faculty personally met the parents if they had any concerns regarding us. Fortunately, though I was never asked to call my parents and maintained a very healthy relationship with all my professors.

During our time there was hardly any direct placement but off-campus interviews were scheduled for us and Genpact Kolkata was the top recruiter as 15-20 of my mates along with me were placed there. One might laugh at the package that we got back then but it was a huge sum then. In last 10 years or so everything has changed as nobody wants a secure job in India as all are striving to be an entrepreneur. Off late though placement cells have been formed and each student is been looked after for placement. The University has a great network and one may not find it tough to find a placement if they are graduated from Presidency University.

The boy’s hostel of the college was at a touching distance from the college but the girl's hostel was in salt lake. I don’t think I can give an insight on that as I never stayed there or have any idea about the same but the college has a hostel facility both for UG and PG students.

The campus is huge may not be as huge as the Universities these days are. The college is nearly 200 years old now and the architecture is still the same. The new campus is getting ready but from what I heard is the college will preserve the heritage campus as the likes of Subhas Chandra Bose, Satyajit Ray, and Swami Vivekanandji among many others have walked through the college corridors. Imagine the feeling that you have when you walk through the campus that this is the same campus that has given the world the likes of such great people. The college is meant for champions and has a long history of producing them and is continued even today. Post-2015 everything apart from the buildings has changed and it must of latest standard. The library was divided into arts and science sections. There were 2 canteens out of which one has been now converted into a cafeteria. The college infrastructure will mesmerize one and all.

Social causes have been the key highlights or the area of address at almost all college meetings. Go green anthem started at Presidency way back and we didn’t have a choice but to be a part of Greenathon. From Jyoti Basu to Mamta Banerjee all have also held their party rallies at the campus as enticing students to vote has been the anthem for a long now. All the festivals were celebrated at the campus with full enthusiasm and during teachers' day, the ex-students of the college used to come and take the lectures. The review has brought back old glory days in my memory again. Thanks for the opportunity and sorry as I couldn’t give much insight on a lot of things.