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Swami Vivekananda University, Barrackpore

স্বামী বিবেকানন্দ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় - Swami Vivekananda University
স্বামী বিবেকানন্দ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় - Swami Vivekananda University Image: Wikimedia Commons. খাঁ শুভেন্দু / CC BY-SA 4.0

Overview

Swami Vivekananda University is a state private university located in Barrackpore, in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes across a range of disciplines and operates under the regulatory framework applicable to private universities established by an Act of the West Bengal state legislature.

Key facts

Name Swami Vivekananda University
Type State private university
Location Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas district
State West Bengal
Country India

Background

The university is named after Swami Vivekananda, the 19th-century Indian monk and philosopher whose teachings on education emphasised character formation alongside academic learning. Barrackpore, the town where the university is situated, lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river to the north of Kolkata and has historic associations with both the colonial military cantonment and the Bengal Renaissance.

Academics

As a multidisciplinary institution, the university typically organises its teaching through faculties or schools covering areas such as engineering and technology, management, basic and applied sciences, humanities and social sciences, education, and allied health disciplines. Programmes are offered at the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels, with curricula structured under the credit-based framework adopted by Indian higher education institutions.

Governance

Being a state private university, Swami Vivekananda University is governed by statutes laid down in its founding state Act, with academic and administrative oversight exercised through bodies such as the Board of Governors, the Academic Council and the Board of Studies. Degrees awarded by the university are recognised under the regulatory norms of the University Grants Commission.

Location and campus

Barrackpore is connected to Kolkata by the Sealdah–Ranaghat suburban railway line and by road via Barrackpore Trunk Road. The town's position within the Kolkata metropolitan region gives the university access to industrial, research and cultural institutions in and around the state capital.

Significance

The institution is part of the expansion of private higher education in West Bengal, where state legislation has enabled the establishment of several private universities since the 2000s to supplement the network of public universities and government-aided colleges. By locating in Barrackpore, the university adds to the educational infrastructure of the northern suburbs of Kolkata, an area historically served chiefly by affiliated colleges of the University of Calcutta and the West Bengal State University.

References