GUWAHATI, July 17 � The Association of Past and Present Office-Bearers of Cotton College Union Society (APPOCCUS) has welcomed the announcement made by the Chief Minister for upgrading the historic Cotton College into a unitary university as a step towards fulfilling a long-standing demand of the Cotton College fraternity.
In a statement here, APPOCCUS adviser and former Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University Dr Nirmal Kumar Choudhury, while welcoming the special initiative taken by the Education Minister and the goodwill gesture demonstrated by the Chief Minister said that this step to grant administrative autonomy to the college would help it face the challenges thrown up by globalization.
Besides, Dr Choudhury said, this is certainly going to help the college in improving its academic qualities through introduction of new courses and expanding its areas of research activities.
Dr Choudhury said that on July 6, 2011, the APPOCCUS had submitted a memorandum to Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with an appeal to develop the college into a centre of excellence with the ultimate aim of developing it into a university of international standard. The APPOCCUS has been holding a series of discussions with the Government, including the Chief Minister, on the issue since 2006. APPOCCUS president Prof Gangapada Choudhury, its other advisers Dr Jayanta Madhab, Prof Kishori Mohan Pathak, Kamaleswar Bora, Prof Mahesh Chandra Bhuyan, Dr Kamalesh Choudhury, vice- president Dr Satyendra Kumar Choudhury, member Dilip Bora and general secretary Jagadish Dutta have conveyed in a separate statement the gratitude expressed by the members of the APPOCCUS and its well-wishers to the Government for the above step.
They have expressed the hope that the Government would move a resolution for adequate allocation to the university during the current session of the Assembly and the initial activities for transforming the college into a university would start soon.
