Bankura Sammilani College is one of the most well-known landmarks on the educational landscape of Bankura district. Established on the first day of September in 1948 by Bankura Sammilani Registered Society, a Social Service Organisation with the noble and prudent vision of propagating higher education among the people of Bankura and adjoining areas of West Bengal, populated by financially weaker people of whom a significant proportion is Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Classes, is situated in the heart of Bankura town, encompassed by the rivers Dwarakeshwar and Gandheswari, [23.140N and 87.070E, 77 m altitude]. At its very inception our College was affiliated to the University of Calcutta, then from 1961 to the University of Burdwan and now to Bankura University since 2017.
We are the first college in Bankura district to undergo the process of Assessment and Accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of India, in 2006, under the new scheme initiated by the UGC. Bankura Sammilani College has currently been graded as NAAC Grade B++ with CGPA 2.97 in 2023 in the Third Cycle.
Our college which started its sacred journey with just 100 male students and 6 teachers in the intermediate science stream, has now blossomed into a behemoth with over 2500 students, 17 departments of science, arts and commerce stream, as well as two post-graduate departments, add-on courses, and various other training courses engaged in imparting theoretical, practical and research training according to the syllabi of Bankura University to which it is currently affiliated.
Along with the growth in academic and curricular dimensions, infrastructure of the college has increased manyfold which is now spread across two campuses – the Main Campus on Taragati Samanta Road and the newly-inaugurated Second campus, opposite of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Bankura.
Human resources constitute the principal asset of our college, which include students, teaching and non-teaching staffs and alumni. The excellent performance of the college students in the university examinations is a testimony to the institution’s effective teaching-learning process. A research-friendly atmosphere prevails in the campus with the administration actively encouraging faculty involvement in research projects and in organizing seminars, conferences, symposia and workshops for students and staff. Digital training of teaching and non-teaching staffs from time to time enhance their potentials considerably.
In order to help students in their career prospects, the college has an active Placement Cell which arranges campus interviews and recruitment and also counsels them regarding their career options. As a further aid to their career prospects in a sharply competitive world, the college has introduced 4 courses under the UGC-sponsored Add-on course programmes in (1) Travel and Tourism, (2) Food Preservation, (3) Spoken English, (4) Yoga and Value-aided education, along with 22 Internship Programmes being introduced from 2025. The college also provides support to students in times of mental crises, which may have been triggered off by a variety of reasons, through a Stress Management Committee.
As an important step towards helping the students achieve success in government jobs and beyond, the College has initiated training for Preliminary and Main Examinations of West Bengal Civil services from 2024 as a part of Platinum Jubilee Celebration concluded recently in a befitting manner.
A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Keeping this in view, the college encourages active involvement in sports. Sporting events are regularly held at the College playground at Ailakandi Mouza adjoining Sanghati Boys’ Hostel. We are proud to say that the achievements of our students in the sporting arena have been no less encouraging than their academic achievements. After winning district championship in Men’s Football in 2024-25, the college reached the semi-final in the State Level Football Championship.
The college has three units of NSS and one NCC unit whose members, under the able guidance of the respective teachers-in-charge, are actively engaged in extension activities related to social upliftment and personality development.
To promote environmental awareness the college also has an Eco Club which engages in various activities making students aware of various environment related issues. Presence of numerous solar lamps and rain water harvesting unit are testimony of making the main campus a “Green Campus”. Many trees are being planted in the second campus of our college.
To facilitate multifarious activities of the college, both academic and co-curricular, there has been a continuous development of infrastructure. Central and departmental libraries, INFLIBNET facility, smart ICT-enabled classrooms, computer terminals/laptops with Internet access, scanner-printer facilities for all departments, Wi-Fi enabled campuses, 24 hours uninterrupted power supply, CCTV surveillance, gymnasium facilities, Boys’ and Girls’ Hostels are salient features of the college. The Teacher-In-Charge is aided by various bodies of the college, i.e., the Governing Body, the Teachers’ Council, Non-teaching Staff Council, the Alumni Association, the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), the Anti Ragging Cell and various committees with active participation of all concerned for smooth running of the college.
The objective of this more than seventy-five year old institution is to focus on the all-round development of students and mould them into responsible citizens of the future.
Dr. Swapan Mukhopadhyay
Teacher-In- Charge, Bankura Sammilani College