Cotton University

Cotton University is a public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established under The Cotton University Act, 2017 of the Assam Legislative Assembly to merge the Cotton College State University and Cotton College. The university made its way to become one of the top 200 institutions of the country by figuring in the band of 150–200 in the National Institutional Ranking Framework rank list in May 2020.

Cotton University
MottoApramattena Veddhavyam
Motto in English
Knowledge in any field
TypePublic
Established1901 (1901)
ChancellorJagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam
Vice-ChancellorProf. Bhabesh Chandra Goswami[1]
Location
Guwahati
,
Assam
,
India

26.1868°N 91.7476°E / 26.1868; 91.7476
ColorsOrange, Blue, Green    
AffiliationsUGC
Websitecottonuniversity.ac.in

Cotton College was established in 1901 by Sir Henry Stedman Cotton, the Chief Commissioner of the erstwhile British province of Assam. It had been the oldest institute of higher education in Assam, and the whole Northeast India.[2]

It became the constituent college of Gauhati University in 1948, and then that of the Cotton College State University, when Cotton College State University was established by an Act (Act XIX of 2011) of the Assam Government in 2011. The Cotton University Act, 2017 was made to resolve the problems between the college and the university.[3]

History
Main structure of the University
A structure at Cotton University

Under public demand, Manick Chandra wrote a letter in 1899 to the British government to open a college in Guwahati, as Assam was the only province without a college and Guwahati was most convenient for the people. In response, Sir Henry Stedman Cotton, K.C.S.I., the then Chief Commissioner of Assam, announced on 3 November 1899 that a college would be opened in Guwahati. The name decided by the public, the Cotton College, was inaugurated on 27 May 1901 by Cotton himself. It was affiliated to the Calcutta University.[4] The college was started with five professors, which included Frederick William Sudmerson, the first principal of the college, and 39 students.

The college was the centre of the freedom movement and the literary and cultural movements of the state to build the identity of Assam as a distinct integral component of India. As Gauhati University was established in 1948, the college was affiliated to it and became its constituent college.[5] It was declared as Special Heritage College in 2015.[4]

On 16 October 1992, the college was declared as a center of excellence,[6] an occasion celebrated in a solemn ceremony with Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then President of India. It officially became a post-graduate college.[5]

Cotton College celebrated its centennial with a year-long program from 27 May 2001 to 26 May 2002. Krishan Kant, the then Vice President of India graced the closing ceremony. India Post issued a ₹ 4.00 commemorative postage stamp on 25 May 2002, as part of the centenary celebration.

Cotton College State University

Cotton College State University was created via an Act of the Government of Assam (Act XIX of 2011). This act received the assent of the Governor of Assam on 3 September 2011, and was notified via the Assam Gazette on 5 September 2011. The vision of this new University is to be a world-class one, excelling in both teaching and research, developing knowledge and skills with an emphasis on this part of our country, providing broad-based education to students to take on the challenges of tomorrow via modern curricula, learning and assessment methods, upholding the highest ethical standards, and providing a clean, efficient and transparent administration. The Cotton College became its constituent college.[7]

The election to the university's first Academic Council and University Court was held on 22 February 2013 with three and five members, respectively.[8]

Cotton University

There had been conflicts between the university and the college mainly on the custody of properties. The Assam Legislative Assembly made an amendment in 2015 that the university and the college run as separate institutes.[9] The bill called The Cotton University Act, 2017 was passed by the Assam Legislative Assembly on 2 March 2017 to resolve the problems.[3] By this act, the university and the college would be completely merged.[9] Upon enforcement, the university was renamed to Cotton University.[10] By ordinance, the Governor of Assam, Banwarilal Purohit became the Chancellor, who appointed Bhabesh Chandra Goswami as the first Vice Chancellor in July 2017.[11]

Organisation and administration

Faculties and Centres
  1. Faculty of Languages, Literature and Linguistics
  2. Faculty of Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences
  3. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
  4. Faculty of Earth Sciences
  5. Faculty of Life Sciences
  6. Centre for Women's Studies

Academics

HSSLC

Keeping the tradition of the erstwhile Cotton College, courses leading to Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate is possible in the Arts and Science streams. This qualification is awarded upon successful completion of two years of study followed by relevant examinations under Assam Higher Secondary Educational Council.

Bachelors degrees

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Computer Application, Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Bachelor of Mass Communication and Journalism and Bachelor of Science (Hons) Biotechnology graduate degrees are offered. The degrees are awarded upon successful completion of three years of study followed by relevant examinations under Cotton University.

Masters degrees

Postgraduate programmes leading to the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Library and Information Science, Master of Law and Master in Computer Application are offered. The degrees are awarded upon successful completion of two years of study followed by relevant examinations under Cotton University. Admission is done through a national level entrance examination.

Doctoral programme

The degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is offered in all postgraduate departments. Admission is open in June/July. Selection is based on written test and a viva voce. UGC/CSIR JRF/NET/SET qualified candidates are exempted from written test.

Accreditation
A 2002 stamp dedicated to Cotton University

This institution has been accredited with cumulative grade point average of 3.76 on four point and grade A++ on 5 November 2016 by the 18th SC executive committee of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. At the time, the cumulative grade point average score was the third highest among colleges in India.[12]

Student life

Hostels
  1. Krishna Kanta Handique Post Graduate Boys' Hostel (established in 1901; capacity 75 students in 22 rooms)
  2. Swahid Muzammil Haque Boys' Hostel (established in 1902; capacity 64 students in 20 rooms)
  3. Rajanikanta Bordoloi Boys' Hostel (established in 1910; capacity 85 students in 30 rooms)
  4. Swahid Ranjit Barpujari Boys' Hostel (established in 1913; capacity 93 students in 33 rooms)
  5. Anundo Ram Barooah Boys' Hostel (established in 1913; capacity 99 students in 33 rooms)
  6. Seetanath Brahma Chaudhury Boys' Hostel (established in 1929; capacity 90 students in 25 rooms)
  7. Mahendra Nath Deka Phukan Boys' Hostel (established in 1955; capacity 110 students in 28 rooms)
  8. Padmashree Nalini Bala Devi Girls' Hostel (established in 1950; capacity 112 students in 25 rooms)
  9. Swahid Kanaklata Girls' Hostel (established in 1971; capacity 105 students in 21 rooms)
  10. Dr. Kamala Roy Girls' Hostel (established in 2001; capacity 60 students in 25 rooms)

Notable alumni and faculty

Noted alumni

List of principals

The institute had 50 principals from 1901 till 2012.[15]

References
  1. "Vice Chancellor". Cotton University. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. "Cotton College Merges with Cotton State University » Northeast Today". Northeast Today. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  3. Singh, A. (8 March 2018). "Assam Assembly Passes The Cotton University Act 2017: Cotton College To Merge With Cotton College State University". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  4. "Assam's Cotton College becomes Cotton University". The Shillong Times. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  5. Goswami, P. (21 July 2011). "Cotton College to Cotton University – Emotions and Debates". Times of Assam. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  6. L. Cremonini, L., Paivandi, S. and Joshi, K.M. (2019). Mergers in Higher Education: Practices and Policies. Studera Press. p. 115. ISBN 9789385883941.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. "UGC team to visit Cotton University". Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  8. "Cotton College State University elections – Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  9. Karmakar, S. (8 March 2017). "What's in a name? A lot if it's Cotton". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  10. "Cotton University". Cotton University. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  11. "Prof Bhabesh Chandra Goswami is the new Cotton University VC". www.outlookindia.com/. 12 July 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  12. "Cotton College Declared as 3rd Best College in India » Northeast Today". Northeast Today. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  13. Curriculum Vitae. tezu.ernet.in
  14. "Education". www.iitg.ac.in.
  15. "Principals of Cotton College". cottoncollege.org.in. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
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