CU to review college infra for honours with research prog

Kolkata: Ahead of introducing honours with research in the fourth year of the undergraduate programme, Calcutta University is set to review how many of its affiliated colleges have the required infrastructure.A marathon meeting with the 146 affiliated colleges has been scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, during which university officials will assess how many are prepared for the programme.The four-year degree programme is divided into eight semesters. After completing three years, students can either exit with a graduation degree or continue to the fourth year. Those who complete the fourth year will receive an honours degree, while those who complete a research project or dissertation will earn an honours with research degree.Sources said colleges have been asked to come prepared with a list of professors in each department who hold PhD degrees before attending the meeting. According to UGC guidelines, the four-year UG honours with research programme requires departments to have at least two permanent PhD-qualified faculty members, proper laboratory and library facilities, and specialised training in research methodology to run the final two semesters — Semester 7 and Semester 8.A CU official said, "The discussion will focus on the infrastructure of the colleges and whether they can run the last two semesters. They must have at least two PhD-qualified faculty members serving as research guides. Moreover, other infrastructure such as library and laboratory facilities, as well as adequate space, must be available. These are the major criteria the colleges must comply with to run the final two semesters."The meeting on Monday is scheduled for colleges located in Kolkata, while on Tuesday, principals of district colleges have been called for the meeting. University officials said that, based on the discussions, the university will decide how many colleges will be allowed to run the seventh and eighth semesters. If a particular college fails to meet the required infrastructure and a sizeable number of students opt for a research project, the university might shift those students to a nearby college where that subject is available."The university has some plans, which can only be implemented after we get a clear picture of the infrastructure of each college," the official said.Sources said the university is also planning to introduce the cluster college concept, allowing students to access the best possible facilities by attending classes in multiple nearby colleges.One college principal said, "We also need proper guidelines on how to run the final two semesters because research in the undergraduate programme is new to us. We have upgraded our infrastructure over the past three years, but whether it is adequate is something we will understand after attending this meeting."Get real-time updates and result insights on the CBSE 12 Result 2026.