Calcutta, July 15: For the first time in its 147-year history, Calcutta University is set to grant affiliation to two self-financed undergraduate colleges.

The university now recognises only those undergraduate colleges that receive aid from the government.

The authorities today accepted the proposals of two organisations to set up the private colleges and set in motion the affiliation process so that they could start functioning from August, when the current academic session begins.

The proposed colleges are the Institute of Science and Advanced Research at Dum Dum and the Sree Agrasain College in Howrah. They would be set up by the B.P. Poddar Foundation for Education Trust and the Radha Krishna Charitable Trust, respectively.

The university has received seven similar proposals.

“The university’s inspection team will soon visit the two proposed colleges and examine whether their infrastructure is suitable for running BA, BSc and B.Com courses. There is no reason why we should not grant affiliation to them if we find that their infrastructure, including the faculty positions, is adequate,” said Suranjan Das, pro vice-chancellor, academic.

The decision was taken at a meeting of a committee recently set up by the university’s Syndicate, its highest policy-making body, to review the issue of granting affiliation to fully self-financed colleges.