Father Joseph. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, June 17: Don Bosco will set up an undergraduate college in town within the next one year.

The plan was revealed yesterday by the new rector and principal of Don Bosco School Siliguri, Father M.A. Joseph, who is also known as Father Joseph Manipadam. The former principal of Don Bosco School Park Circus took over the new assignment last week.

At a welcome reception organised by his former students, Father Joseph, who had been the vice-principal of Don Bosco School Siliguri between 1984 and 1990, said the provincial heads of the Salatians of Don Bosco have decided in principle to begin an undergraduate college here. “If everything falls in place, we plan to begin classes from the 2008-09 academic session,” he said.

The college will come up on the school grounds off Sevoke Road near Second Mile here.

Before deciding on the courses to be offered, a study will be conducted to assess the needs of the youth of the region. “There are several good schools here, from where students pass out with good results every year. But there are few well-known institutions for higher studies, because of which most of the students prefer to go to other places,” said Father Joseph.

The courses most likely to be offered are BA, BSc and BCom, though vocational and professional courses are also possible. “It is too early to say anything on this or how many students we would have in the college,” the rector added.

The Salatians of Don Bosco currently run three colleges in the country, one of which is in Sonada, a short distance from here on the way to Darjeeling. “The Sonada Salatians College was initially a training centre for our personnel. It was opened to common people four years ago,” said Father T. Albert, the former principal of Don Bosco School Siliguri.

The other colleges are St Anthony’s College in Shillong (the oldest) which has been the alma mater of almost every chief minister of Meghalaya till date, and the Don Bosco College in Tirupattur, Tamil Nadu.

Don Bosco’s plans for a college come close on the heels of the St Xavier’s College, which started functioning from the Jesu Ashram compound in Matigara this year. The college will shift to the under-construction Rajgunj complex, about 20 km away, next year.

Don Bosco School Siliguri is also going to add one section to each class, raising its student strength from 1,400 to at least 2,000. The Don Bosco School at Oodlabari in Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri is being extended up to Class XII.

Father Joseph received the Principal of the Year award from The Telegraph in Schools in 2001, while he was at Don Bosco School Park Circus.