Jan. 20: The demand for granting autonomy to Cotton College has received a boost with the peer team of the University Grants Commission’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council endorsing it.

The team, which visited the college from January 8 to 10, has put on record its conviction that “the college has the potential to become an autonomous institution.” The team was led by S.K. Mukherjee, vice-chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi and its other members comprised former secretary of UGC, C.P. Srivastava, principal of St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling, Father Victor and NAAC co-ordinator G. Srinivash.

The team lauded the efforts of the college to tap resources, especially the four self-financing courses relating to computer science and screen printing.

It hailed the rich heritage of the institution and lauded it for imparting quality education and producing men and women of calibre who have excelled in various fields.

It noted that Cotton College was the only non-technical college in the country, where the department of science and technology, Government of India, had set up an entrepreneurship development cell to propagate the concept of entrepreneurship development through science and technology inputs.

The team suggested establishment of a centre for Northeast studies in the college, undertaking of staff-students exchange programmes and signing of memorandums of understanding with other universities and research institutions to help the college live up to its role.

The team appreciated the efforts of various departments in regularly publishing research journals and the international exposure and linkages of various faculties.