On Wednesday, December 11, the West Bengal Assembly passed a bill to establish the first private university within the Calcutta municipal area, according to a report by The Telegraph.
The Bhawanipur Global University Bill paves the way for a new campus in Tollygunge, covering a three-acre site. The university will offer courses in business administration, law, design, and specialised fields such as technology, healthcare, and hospitality.
Miraj D Shah, Vice-Chairman of the university's sponsoring society, the Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society, shared that the institution will incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) across all its courses.
The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society, which already runs Bhawanipur Education Society College in Bhowanipore, will oversee the new university. Upon its launch, the society will manage two entities — the Bhawanipur Education Society College, affiliated with Calcutta University, and the newly established Bhawanipur Global University.
The university aims to admit around 1,200 students each year.
In the Assembly, Education Minister Bratya Basu highlighted that the establishment of private universities is part of a broader effort to make higher education more accessible.
When Opposition MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) raised concerns about the "privatisation" of education, Basu responded by pointing out that Bengal has the largest number of state-sponsored universities in India. He also reassured that the state still maintains a strong public education system, with 30 state-aided universities alongside the newly proposed private institutions, added The Telegraph.
Once the Bhawanipur Global University is operational, West Bengal will have a total of 15 private universities and 30 state-aided universities.
