Patna, Jan. 22: Anugrah Narayan College has added another feather to its cap. After reclaiming National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s (Naac) A grade for excellence in higher education, it has now achieved the feat of being the first non-technical college in the state to go WiFi.

At a cost of Rs 10 lakh, AN college has set up a WiFi network on campus. The facility will be available on campus from end-January.

Students sitting in any corner of the college will be able to access Internet through their laptops and computers. For faster Internet connectivity, the college administration has installed five nodes or access poi- nts in different parts of the campus.

Ashok Ghosh, in-charge, department of environment and water management, said: “The WiFi connectivity is a part of the college’s initiatives under the National Knowledge Network.”

Ghosh said any student whose laptop or computer is WiFi-enabled can access Internet in the college free of cost.

The students will be provided a password for accessing the WiFi connectivity. Aircel has been selected as the lease line provider to the college.

Ankur Anand, a student of the college, said: “With the Wifi connectivity on campus, we will easily be able to download science articles and course-related material. The biggest beneficiary of this facility would be students who cannot afford expensive science books. A lot of new science articles appear on the Internet and are easy to access.”

Ghosh said students from foreign universities studying in our college will also benefit from WiFi connectivity.

“Four foreign students — two from Delft University of Technology, Netherlands and two from Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany — are studying in the department of environment and water management.”

Moreover, the college is also planning to start exchange of study material with partner universities. The college, at present, has a tie-up with the European Commission for exchange of research materials with foreign universities.

Haridwar Singh, the college principal, said: “As part of the knowledge network, the college is also planning to have e-connectivity with other premier institutions. The knowledge network will enable the students to attend lectures of eminent professors from other universities too.”

AN College regained Naac’s “A” grade last year for its initiatives in higher education. It is the second institute in Patna to get the prestigious accreditation, the other one being Patna Women’s College under Patna University. Gaya College under Magadh University is the third institute is Bihar to be accredited with “A” grade from Naac.

Singh said: “Naac’s A grade has opened gates for the college to get funds from the University Grants Commission for its infrastructure and academic development.”