Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Government College that was inaugurated by finance minister Asim Dasgupta at Matigara on the outskirts of Siliguri on Monday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Oct. 4: The 18th government college in the state was inaugurated here today, more than a month after classes had started at the institution that will offer only science courses for the time being.

Established on a two-acre plot given by the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority in Matigara, the two-storeyed Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Government College offers courses in chemistry, physics, botany, math and zoology.

“This college is the 18th government college in the state and its inauguration is a matter of pride not just for north Bengal but the entire state,” finance minister Asim Dasgupta said while formally opening the campus, 6km from here. Dasgupta had laid the foundation stone of the college two years ago.

Around 100 students have already enrolled in the institution, the third government college in the region after Darjeeling Government College and ABN Seal College in Cooch Behar.

“Twenty teaching posts have been sanctioned and 12 non-teaching posts, too, have been granted. We have also sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for the development of a library in the institution,” Dasgupta said. Subimal Sen, the chairperson of the state higher education council, Satish Tiwari, principal secretary of the state higher education department, and Asok Bhattacharya, state minister for municipal affairs and urban development were among those present at the event.

Bhattacharya said social sciences and other courses would be introduced in the college in the future.

“We have removed science from the name of the college (Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy Government College) because the institution will offer subjects related to social sciences and other courses in future,” he said.

Bhattacharya also said the state mass education department had recently sanctioned Rs 1.63 crore for setting up a government library at Siliguri.

Jubilee fete

State finance minister Asim Dasgupta inaugurated the golden jubilee celebrations of Siliguri Barodakanta Vidyapith on Monday evening. Earlier, the present and former teachers and students of the school took out a procession through the town to mark the jubilee.