File picture of Cotton College

Jan. 31: Aprammatten Beddhavyam, the motto of Cotton College, denotes a dedication to knowledge in any field, whether technical, professional or general.

In view of this pursuit of excellence, Ignou’s selection of the college as its centre to promote distance-learning programmes comes as a welcome development. The college is the first in the region to serve as an Ignou centre.

Cotton College principal Indra Kumar Bhattacharyya confirmed the development and said the move would help the century-old college involve itself in a big way in the distance-learning programme.

He added that an association with a renowned institution like Ignou would enhance the credentials of the college.

Ignou was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1985. At present, the open university caters to the educational needs of nearly 1.5 million students in India and 35 countries abroad, through 11 schools of studies and an elaborate network of 58 regional centres, seven sub-regional centres, 1,400 study centres, and 41 overseas centres.

Bhattacharyya said the college would soon submit a proposal to Ignou about the infrastructure required to run the centre successfully.

The college will reach an agreement with Ignou and the centre is expected to be ready for inauguration within three to four months. The principal added that the college would provide space, infrastructure and various other facilities like Internet and a library for the Ignou centre.

The college will distribute the course materials to the students and its faculty would also conduct classes at the centre at regular intervals.

Ignou will bear the expenditure to run the centre.

“The college is only full-fledged postgraduate college in the region. It has more than 5,000 students, from the higher secondary level to the post-graduate level, and 244 faculty members. Moreover, the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) placed the college in the ‘A’ category. Hence, it was Ignou’s first choice,” a source said.

After Ignou sets up its centre, the college is hopeful that the UGC would approve its latest project to introduce career-oriented courses.

The college recently submitted a proposal to UGC, seeking financial assistance and permission for 21 career-oriented programmes.

“The introduction of career-oriented courses will encourage skill-oriented and value-added courses in the college, running parallel to the conventional courses. The science and arts courses are expected to begin from the new academic session starting in June,” said a teacher associated with the project.