University of Gour Banga’s Review and Verdict by CollegeDekho

Campus at a Glance

The University of Gour Banga is a State Aided University situated in the English Bazar area of Malda district in West Bengal. The university was established under the West Bengal Act XXVI of 2007 on 19th February 2008. Gour Banga University reached a height when it was given the UGC 12(B) status, accreditation from the NAAC and a place in the NIRF Top 200 Indian universities. It is a co-education university and offers various courses to male and female students. Candidates have to pass the secondary (10+2) examination for admission to the undergraduate courses and admission is given based on the merit secured in the previous academic years.

Around 25 general degree colleges with an enrolment of 1.50 lakhs from Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda districts with the exception of Raiganj University College, are affiliated with the Gour Banga University. The Government of West Bengal established this new university with the aim of providing quality higher education in less educationally developed districts like Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur which have a Graduate Enrolment Ratio of less than the state average and national average as well. The Gour Banga University started its first academic year in 2008 with the philosophy of achieving and maintaining the highest levels of academic excellence and meeting the aspiration of the socio-economically backward segments of Muslims, SC and ST which constitute more than 75 per cent of the population in its area.

Find here a sincere review of Gour Banga University which is intended to provide important information about the university faculty, placements, ranking, location and other important details. 

Gour Banga University NIRF Ranking

Gour Banga University is UGC-approved and accredited by NAAC with Grade B. The university ranked among the top 200 Indian Universities according to the NIRF Ranking List 2017. 

According to EduRank 2021, Gour Banga University, Malda is ranked: 

• #1 overall in Malda, 
• #18 overall in West Bengal, 
• #350 overall in India, 
• #3104 overall in Asia and 
• #8365 overall in the world.

Our Take:

Gour Banga University was not given any spot in the NIRF Ranking 2023. It did submit the institute data for NIRF 2022 but was not placed in any rank band. After 2017, Gour Banga University has failed to feature in the NIRF rankings. There is barely any recognition given to the university by other ranking agencies as well. Considering how long the varsity has been running, the absence of awards and rankings is a matter of concern when it comes to determining the overall quality offered to students. Gour Banga University needs to take steps to get more visibility and better rankings. This can include launching new courses, expanding its curriculum to other departments/ streams, and improving its infrastructure, etc. The university has to work more on educational development so that it is recognised and rewarded, furthering its popularity.  

Gour Banga University Academia & Batch Size

Presently, Gour Banga University offers 23 postgraduate courses in the streams of Law, Library and Information Science, Physiology, Mass Communication and Journalism and Food and Nutrition that have given a unique energy and scope to improve the employability of its students. Various undergraduate and postgraduate courses are offered to the students of Gour Banga in full-time mode. 

Courses Offered

The courses at the university are available in various streams of Science, Arts, Commerce, Management, Law and Social Sciences. The university is largely focusing on boosting postgraduate education and research and evolving as a centre of excellence in a rural backdrop. Various departments and courses offered at the Gour Banga University are:

Fees

The Gour Banga University course fees depend on the course preference of the candidates. Students can get an idea of the fees from the table given below:

Scholarship

Gour Banga University students can apply for various scholarships awarded by the state or federal government based on their category, academic merit, eligibility, financial background, economic situation and other factors. Find here the list of scholarships available at Gour Banga:

• Swami Vivekananda Merit Cum Meaning Minority Scholarship: The students of West Bengal are given a performance-based scholarship that gives a monthly stipend of INR 8,000 to the selected scholarship applicants. To become eligible for this scholarship, students must have acquired at least 75% of their grades in the 12th grade and have an annual household income of less than INR 2.5 lakhs.

• Bigyani Kanya Medha Britti Scholarship: This scholarship is provided to female candidates pursuing a bachelor's degree in Engineering, Science, or Medicine. Those who are selected will receive a monthly award of INR 3,000.

• West Bengal Hindi Scholarship Program: This scholarship is available for financial support for further studies up to the research level. Qualified candidates would receive a monthly stipend of INR 3,000 to INR 10,000 from the West Bengal government.

• Vidyashree Scholarship: The students who belong to the minority quota and are meritorious are provided financial assistance. The minimum annual stipend awarded is INR 1,100.

• West Bengal Post Matric Scholarships for SC/ ST/ OBC Students: Students from the SC/ ST/ OBC categories will receive a monthly stipend varying from INR 160 to INR 1200 as the scholarship amount.

• Gour Banga University offers scholarships to the students under sports quota. 

• Candidates whose parent serves or has served in the military are eligible for a scholarship.

Our Take:

Gour Banga University offers a variety of popular courses at UG, PG, M.Phil and PhD levels. The course fee is reasonable and the university also offers various scholarship opportunities for students who belong to minority groups. However, introducing some new-age courses and specialisations will definitely increase the demand of the university among students. Technical courses are also sought-after in the job market and students are increasingly opting for such degrees. Additionally, ensuring the pedagogy of all courses offered at Gour Banga University is also imperative which will ultimately improve its ranking. Students have mentioned that there is tough competition to get admission to the Gour Banga University which results in high cutoff scores. 

Gour Banga University Infrastructure

The Gour Banga University has an excellent infrastructure that is situated on a huge campus. The facilities offered by the university are provided to students, teachers and faculty members for the overall growth and development of everyone associated with the college. 

According to Gour Banga University, it has utilized the funds received from the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) and the DST to establish and enhance the Science Laboratories, establish 21 Smart Class Rooms, a Medical Unit and a multi-gym. An archaeological museum has been established to maintain the archaeological heritage of the region from the reigns of the ‘Pala’ and the ‘Sen’ dynasties. Construction is ongoing for a separate Language Building, Girls’ Hostel, Boys’ Hostel and extension of the University Guest House. The university has also launched ‘Mobile Apps’ for bibliographic data searching and has taken the initiative for digital information recovery through the Library Portal. Gour Banga University has installed a free Wi-Fi facility for all the students throughout the campus. It has taken the challenge of adopting a village, ‘Parbatya’, which needs all-round development. The university, through this project, plans to raise the living standards of the villagers.

Hostel

There are separate hostels for boys and girls with internet facilities across the building. The Gour Banga University hostel has water purifiers on every floor with a 24-hour power supply in all the rooms. There are also water heaters, an indoor recreational room, and a medical centre for medical emergencies.

Library

The Gour Banga University library is equipped with various textbooks, journals, e-books, and research papers to assist students in their research and daily tasks. The library has approximately 3,000 books. A project has also been introduced for library automation using KOHA. The existing catalogue database will be imported to KOHA which will permit users to perform searches directly through the university portal.

Laboratories

The university offers a host of science and technology-based courses for which the Gour Banga University campus has laboratories that are well-equipped with the necessary instruments. Each lab has a lab assistant to help students with their experiments.

Classrooms

The classrooms inside the university are spacious and clean. They are equipped with modern amenities for the benefit of students and faculty members.

Gym

The Gour Banga University has a gym facility for the students. Those staying at the hostels can take care of their fitness by utilizing the gym facilities. 

Canteen

The Gour Banga University has a canteen that provides catering services to students. The canteen is open till the working hours of the university.

Sports

Gour Banga University gives major importance to sports and has provisions for athletic activities like football, cricket, basketball, etc.

Internet

The Gour Banga University provides internet services that help students with their daily assignments and projects.

Medical/ Hospital

The college has a health centre with a first aid facility for the students and staff members.

Our Take:

Gour Banga University’s extensive facilities, including hostels, canteens, library, gym, etc contribute to a convenient and accessible environment for students. The university's infrastructure has room for improvement and the administration is hopeful of significant enhancement once all ongoing construction work concludes. As per the reviews submitted by students of the university, the food quality is good and the hostels are clean. They have reported that the university provides a decent quality of life from hostels to college buildings.

Gour Banga University Internships & Placements

The placement cell of Gour Banga University works hard throughout the year to provide the best employment possibilities to eligible and deserving candidates. The college also offers internship opportunities to all its students. Various companies like Wipro, PhonePe, Royal Enfield, and Reliance Industries take part in the recruitment drive and offer lucrative offers to the students. The highest and average salary packages extended to the students vary depending upon their courses. However, according to the students, the university placements are known to be average. Only 65% of the students are placed at different organisations annually. 

Placement

The Gour Banga University’s placement and training cell strives to provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities to its students. This cell works on building relations with the participating recruiters and organises different activities for student growth. The cell conducts various lectures, seminars, and pre-placement talks to let the students understand the professional world.

Placement Highlights 2022

Top Recruiters

The leading companies that participate in the Gour Banga University placement drive are:

Our Take:

Gour Banga University offers campus placements and has signed up with several industry partners for its placement drive. However, not all students across all courses get the advantage of landing a job through this campus placement drive. Many have to apply for jobs independently if they do not seek to pursue higher education. Gour Banga University also offers certain UG and PG courses that entail internships/ workshops etc in their curriculum but it has not partnered with any companies for this. Candidates have to make individual efforts to get their desired internships while completing their degree at Gour Banga. The university is yet to create a wide network for the placement opportunities of its graduates. Collaborating with some leading companies, training students as per the demands of the industry, and incorporating technical courses are some of the first-level actions that the university should take to improve its placement statistics.

Gour Banga University Diversity and Demographics

Gour Banga University currently has around 2,500 students. In these coming years, the university is aiming for ways in which it can improve the services and benefits offered to students and research scholars who will in future prove to be skilled and qualified personnel fit to service in a challenging and competitive environment of a globalized economy. The university feels reasonably confident in its capability to face future challenges and prospects.

Gender Participation

Demographic Representation

Our Take:

If we look at the demographic representation of Gour Banga University, we will see that there are no students from outside the country who have been admitted to the university. The percentage of students from outside West Bengal is also very low. Gour Banga can improve its global standing by collaborating with universities outside India and introducing student exchange programmes. Launching STEM courses that are highly sought-after can also attract students from other states. The ratio of male students to female students at the university is quite good. For students seeking cultural diversity among batchmates and networking globally, Gour Banga University might not be the ideal college right now. However, the university has the capacity to show significant improvement once the entire campus construction is over.

Gour Banga University Faculty/ College Administration & Management

Prof. Surabhi Bandyopadhyay, the former vice-chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University, became the first vice-chancellor of the university, while the former registrar of the University of North Bengal, Dr. Tapash Kumar Chattopadhyay, became the first acting registrar, all in 2008. Each department has a Head Professor, Professors and Assistant Professors. The students have also said that the teachers are very good and helpful. Gour Banga University has a good teaching faculty that has high-quality teaching experience. Students have often stated that if they follow the lessons taught at the university, there is no need to take any external assistance. The students can follow what is taught in the class and score well on the exam.

Our Take:

According to the students of the University of Gour Banga, the faculty is very helpful and provides the right guidance to the students. The university has its own Telegram and WhatsApp group where teachers are connected to all the students. All teachers are well-qualified and most of them are Ph.D holders.

Gour Banga University Location

Gour Banga University is located in the English Bazar area of Malda district in West Bengal. The university was established in the backward region of Malda, West Bengal to cater to the academic needs of the population of the three border districts of Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur. The university is situated on NH-34, P.O Mokdumpur in the District of Malda, West Bengal. The Malda town railway station is the nearest to the Gour Banga University, Malda, and is situated at a distance of only 4.2 km and can be reached in 19 minutes. The nearest airport to Malda is Bagdogra. Buses and taxis are easily available for travelling to Malda from Bagdogra. There are other modes of transport that can be used for commuting to and from the University of Gour Banga, Malda. 

Our Take:

The university is located in Malda town which has all the amenities. There are bus services and train services in the town which students can use for their daily commute. However, the airport is a little far away from the university campus. From the official website of Gour Banga University, nothing is known about the transportation facilities offered by the university. Therefore, students will have to take public conveyance to reach the university from the station or airport.

Gour Banga University Expectation vs Reality - CollegeDekho Verdict

The Gour Banga University offers a comprehensive educational experience and has all the necessary facilities such as a library, classroom, gym, laboratories, canteen, sports facilities, etc. It also has separate hostel accommodations for male and female students. 

The university's placement cell is committed to helping students get the best placement opportunities. Although good companies like Wipro, PhonePe, etc hire eligible candidates, students have often complained about the limited opportunities and the number of students placed each year. There is still room for improvement in skill development and diversifying industry connections. To improve the placement opportunities, Gour Banga University needs to prepare students for a competitive job market. 

To summarize Gour Banga University’s verdict, we can say that the university has built hope for a better future for the young people of the backward regions of West Bengal. The university is putting in its effort and promises to offer some great facilities to the students with the help of the vibrant faculty and intellectually stimulating ambience.

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