The University of North Bengal (also North Bengal University, abbreviated as NBU) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

state university in the

North Bengal North Bengal ( , Uttar Banga) is a cross-border cultural–geographic region consisting of the north-western areas of Bangladesh as well as the northern part of the West Bengal state of India. Bounded to the east by the Jamuna and in the south ...

region of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Its main campus is located in Raja Rammohanpur,

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

, Darjeeling district, in the

n state of

. Its second campus is located in Danguajhar,

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is ...

Jalpaiguri district Jalpaiguri district () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was established in 1869 during British Raj. The headquarters of the district are in the city of Jalpaiguri, which is also the divisional headquarters of Ja ...

and the third campus is located in

Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). I ...

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The university was established in 1962 by the Government of West Bengal. North Bengal University offers degrees in undergraduate, post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral programmes. It is accredited by NAAC with B++ grade.

History

The University of North Bengal was established by ''The North Bengal University Act, 1961'' passed by the Legislature of West Bengal and the university started functioning in 1962. It was the first university in the North Bengal region. It initially served the predominantly rural areas in the six North Bengal districts of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...

, Malda,

Uttar Dinajpur Uttar Dinajpur (), also known as North Dinajpur, is one of the 23 districts of the state of West Bengal in India. The district is the part of Malda Division. Raiganj city is the headquarters of the district. This district bifurcated on 1 Ap ...

and Dakshin Dinajpur, and the neighbouring state of

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

. In 2007,

Sikkim University Sikkim University is a central university established under an Act of Parliament of India. It is in Gangtok. The campus is expected to be built at Yangang in Namchi district, about from Gangtok. Its first chancellor was M. S. Swaminathan; ...

was established and all colleges of

were affiliated to it. In 2008, the University of Gour Banga was established and almost all the 28 colleges in

Maldah Malda district, also spelt Maldah or Maldaha (, , often ), is a district in West Bengal, India. The capital of the Bengal Sultanate, Gauḍa (city), Gauda and Pandua, Malda, Pandua, was situated in this district. Mango, jute and silk are the m ...

and Dakshin Dinajpur (with the exception of Raiganj University College) were affiliated to it. In 2012-13, Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University was established with all the colleges of Cooch Behar district and Alipurduar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district affiliated to it. The University of North Bengal presently has jurisdiction over the districts of

Kalimpong Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territo ...

Alipurduar Alipurduar (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Alipurduar district and Alipurduar railway division of NFR. It is situated in the Western Dooars natural region, on the banks of Kaljani River in the ...

and

Campuses

The main campus is spread over an area of and lies between

and

Bagdogra Airport Bagdogra Airport () is a customs airport serving the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. It is located in Bagdogra, south-west from the city centre. It is operated as a civil enclave at the Bagdogra Air Force Station of the Indian A ...

in the

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...

region of Darjeeling district. The second campus is in Danguajhar,

. The third campus is located in

. The university has an annual enrollment of more than 36,000 undergraduate students and more than 1,500 postgraduate students and scholars.

Organisation and administration

Governance

The Vice-chancellor of the University of North Bengal is the chief executive officer of the university. Currently, the post of Vice-Chancellor of the university is vacant.

Faculties and Departments

The University of North Bengal has 30 departments organized into two faculty councils.

Centres

The university offers affiliation to research and academic centres on and off-campus.

Affiliations

The university has several affiliated colleges spread over four districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri, and one sub-division Islampur of Uttar Dinajpur district.

Academics

The University of North Bengal offers four-year (B.A./B.Sc./B.Com.) undergraduate degrees and a five-year B.A. LLB degree. It also offers two-year M.A., M.Com.,

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

, M.Sc., M.C.A. and M.Pharm degrees, two-year

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

degrees and

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degrees.

Accreditation

In 2022, the university was accredited with a CGPA of 2.82 on a seven point scale at "B++" Grade by the

National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a public autonomous body of the government of India that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. It is funded by the University Grants Commission and hea ...

(NAAC), valid for a period of 5 years.

Museum

The Akshaya Kumar Maitreya Heritage Museum incorporating the Raja Rajaram Museum Collection was established in the University of North Bengal in February 1965. The museum is now a repository for sculpture, coins, paintings and manuscripts among other things related to the history of North Bengal. It is also a regional museum and is one of the few university museums in India. It collects, preserves and studies archaeological relics discovered in the region.

Notable alumni

* Subhasish Dey, hydraulician and educator *

Charu Majumdar Charu Majumdar (15 May 1918 – 28 July 1972) was an Indian communist leader, and founder and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Born into a progressive landlord family in Siliguri in 1918, he became a Commun ...

, founder of the Communist Party of India * Abdul Karim Chowdhury, former Minister of Mass Education Extension and Library Services in the Government of West Bengal *

Mahima Chaudhry Mahima Chaudhry (born Ritu Chaudhry; 13 September 1973), is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. Chaudhry did a few modelling assignments and television commercials before venturing into films, with the 1997 romantic drama film ' ...

, Indian actress and model *

Danny Denzongpa Danny Denzongpa (born Tshering Phintso Denzongpa; 25 February 1948) is an Indian actor, playback singer, film director, and liquor baron. His film career was primarily in Hindi, but also occasionally in Bengali, Nepali, and Tamil films. In a ...

, Indian actor, singer and film director * Jyoti Prakash Tamang, Indian food technologist, microbiologist * Parthasarathi Chakraborty, Indian environmental geochemist, a former senior scientist * Debkumar Mukhopadhyay, Vice Chancellor of Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University *

Prem Singh Tamang Prem Singh Tamang (born 5 February 1968), better known as P. S. Golay, is an Indian politician and former teacher who is serving as the 6th and current Chief Minister of Sikkim since 2019 and the founder and leader of the Sikkim Krantikari Mor ...

, Chief Minister of Sikkim * Sumana Roy, Indian writer and poet * Bhim Hang Limboo, Minister of Public Health Engineering of Sikkim * Sabina Yeasmin, Indian Cabinet Minister of State * Sourav Chakraborty, Chairman of

Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority or SJDA is an urban planning agency serving the cities of Siliguri and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, India. It was established in the year 1980 and has been responsible of Planning & Development of Siligu ...

* Chokila Iyer, India's first female foreign secretary * Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, social worker, women's rights activist * Sukanta Majumdar, 10th President of Bharatiya Janata Party, West Bengal; Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha

External links

*
University Grants CommissionNational Assessment and Accreditation Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North Bengal Universities and colleges established in 1962 Universities and colleges in Darjeeling district Education in Siliguri Education in Jalpaiguri 1962 establishments in West Bengal