Nowgong College is an autonomous college affiliated to Gauhati University. Established in 1944, it is one of the oldest co-educational colleges of Assam, situated in the city of Nagaon. It was initially established with the permission of the University of Calcutta but later, in 1948, the college was accorded affiliation to the Gauhati University.^[1] On 22nd December 2020, the college was granted autonomy by the University Grants Commission for a period of 10 years.^[2]

History

The main entrance of Nowgong College

Established in 1944, with the permission of University of Calcutta, Nowgong College was the first higher educational institution of Central Assam, one of the oldest in Assam and the entire Northeast. It was founded with the efforts of Jananeta Motiram Bora, the Founder President of the Governing Body of the College, who was the Chairman of the Nowgong Local Board at that time. After being elected as the MLA from the Nowgong (South East) LAC in 1946 from the Indian National Congress, Bora served as the Minister of Land and Revenue in Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi's Cabinet, and played an active role in procuring land, building infrastructure and arranging funds for the College; he helped in acquiring the Government Dak Bungalow and the construction of Bordoloi Bhavan, the first building that came up in the present exclusive campus of Nowgong College. The other founding fathers of Nowgong College include social worker Brindaban Goswami, Purna Chandra Sarmah, Pratap Chandra Sarmah, Mohi Chandra Borah, Haladhar Bhuyan, Bimala Kanta Borah, Dr. Lalit Baruah, Yog Singh Chetry, Priya Ranjan Sengupta and Priyanath Sen; they were the first financiers and policymakers of the College. Sahityacharya Jajneswar Sarma, initially a Professor of Jorhat's Jagannath Barooah College, was the first Principal of Nowgong College; he was a scholar of English, Assamese and Sanskrit literature, who later served as the President of the Asam Sahitya Sabha.

On 7th August 1944, at 6 pm, Nowgong College, with a faculty strength of 7 teachers, officially began its first class with 7 students in a classroom of the Dawson High School. The College Administration later came to possess the hostels of the Nowgong Government High School, on lease, from the Govt. of Assam.

After Motiram Bora, Dr. Surya Kumar Bhuyan, a renowned historian and litterateur, served as the President of the Governing Body of the College; he and Principal Sarma, together, laid down the academic foundation of the College.^[3] Nowgong College was accorded affiliation to the newly-established Gauhati University in 1948, during the Vice Chancellorship of Krishna Kanta Handique.^[4]

The statue of ex-student, professor and one of Assam's noted litterateurs Mahim Bora at the college campus.

Courses offered

Under-Graduate Courses^[5]

1. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) with Honors in Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Economics, Education, English, Geography, Hindi, History, Philosophy, Political Science and Sanskrit.
2. Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.)
3. Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) with Honors in Botany, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics and Zoology.
4. Bachelor of Vocational Education (B.Voc.) in Travel & Tourism Management and Medical Lab Technology.

Post-Graduate Courses^[5]

1. Master of Arts (M.A.) in Assamese, Education, English, History and Philosophy.
2. Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Botany, Chemistry and Zoology.

Departments

Students' Union

The Nowgong College Students' Union (NCSU) was established in 1970. Anil Sharma served as the first General Secretary of the Union.

References

External links

• Nowgong College
• Gauhati University