100-yr-old Ogilvie hostel to house Scottish Church College’s second campus

Kolkata: The 100-year-old Ogilvie Building will now serve as the second campus of Scottish Church College. The college spent two years renovating it after the four-year degree programme was introduced. The building will be inaugurated soon, and classes will begin there in June. This is part of an expansion to accommodate an additional year in the UG programme under National Education Policy 2020.

Not only Scottish Church College, several other colleges are also expanding their buildings to accommodate the extra year in the undergraduate programme.

Scottish Church College has decided to shift its BBA and commerce departments to the new building, and plans to introduce new courses after receiving the autonomous status from the UGC.

College principal Madhumanjari Mandal said, “The expansion was required with increasing student strength. But when the four-year degree programme was introduced three years ago, it became mandatory for us. We have applied for autonomy to the UGC, and are planning to introduce new courses once we get approval. We need more space for this and so, decided to transform the Ogilvie hostel into our second campus. It is now ready.”

The hostel was constructed in 1914 on Hartaki Bagan Lane, opposite Duff Street. It was open to students from all classes of Scottish Church College. The name ‘Ogilvie’ was chosen to honour the first principal of the General Assembly’s Institution. Scottish Church College was established in 1830 as the General Assembly’s Institution, and, in 1929, was renamed Scottish Church College. The hostel began functioning more than 10 years before the institution’s name was changed.

It was one of the college’s three boys’ hostels, and the authorities shifted boarders in a phased manner from 2022 so that renovation could begin to convert it into an academic block. The college also launched a fundraising drive to raise around Rs 3 crore.

Behala College, which received autonomous status last year, has introduced BSc programmes in cyber security, multimedia, design and web development, and a bachelor of computer applications. The college is focusing on an industry-aligned curriculum, practical and project-based learning, and exposure to the latest tools and technologies. After receiving autonomous status, the college received Rs 30 lakh in funds for building development to start new courses.

Principal Sudip Chakraborty said, “We have a space issue, and will start new courses in a new building that is under construction. We will also shift our labs and classes there. However, the building will take time to be ready, so we are planning to hold classes in two shifts for proper utilisation of existing space at the college. The admission process for the first UG batch is underway, and students’ response is remarkable.”

At New Alipore College, a three-storey building is under construction to accommodate additional classes. Principal Jaydeep Sarangi said, “We took this decision immediately after the four-year degree programme was introduced three years ago because, to accommodate one more year in UG studies, we need more classrooms. The new building is being built on our campus, and construction is almost complete. We hope to shift classes very shortly.”