Kendrapara Autonomous College

Kendrapara one of the districts of Odisha, known as Tulasikshetra, is sanctified by the presence of Lord Sri Baladevjew, the elder brother of Lord Jagannath. It maintains a rich cultural heritage and spiritual tradition. In the field of politics it has played a pivotal role both in state and national sphere. In spite of its large area and vast population, it had no institution of higher learning until 1958. By the sincere efforts of some enthusiastic noble souls of this area, the long cherished dream of the people blossomed into reality by the establishment of this college on 12th February, 1959. Late Dinabandhu Sahoo and Late Nimain Charan Das did the spadework of the college. Late Dr. Saroj Kanta Kanungo, Late Mohammad Fazil Robi, Late Prahallad Mallick and Late Bhabagrahi Mishra played active roles in giving a real shape to the concept of a college in Kendrapara. Sri Satchidananda Mohanty, Sri Bhagabat Prasad Mohanty, Sri Bed Prakash Agarwalla, Late Nayan Kishore Mohanty, Late Golakh Prasad Das, Late Basant Kumar Sahoo and many others worked hard for the growth of the college. Kendrapara College grew as a sister institution of the Govt. Engineering School which was functioning then as an institution for technical education. The foundation stone of the College was laid on 12th February 1959 by Late Dr. Harekrushna Mahatab, the then Chief Minister of Odisha. On one end of Kendrapara stands the glorious temple of Lord Sri Baladevjew, while on the other stands this temple of learning just at the entry to the town. The School of Engineering, under the circumstances prevailing then, had to be closed down and the buildings of the School were handed over, one by one to the Kendrapara College. This marked the beginning of the real growth of this college and since then the development of this institution has been phenomenal over the years. It started functioning with 75 students on its rolls and there were just 4 teachers on its staff at the initial stage. Today, in the 55th year of its existence there are 3,921 students,82 teachers and 51non-teaching members of the staff. The college extends over an area of 65.27 acres. The institution has expanded in all possible directions providing teaching facility in Arts, Commerce & Science up to the degree level with honours in 23 subjects, Self-financing P.G. Degree in one subject, Diploma in one subject, Advanced Diploma in two subjects & Certificate Course in one subject.There is also teaching facility in vocational streams upto +2 level. Now it is the largest non-government college in the state of Odisha. The college has achieved such a unique status because of the able guidance and pioneering work of its founder President Late Dinabandhu Sahoo. Also, Late N.C. Das, after his retirement from Central Government services devoted himself to the growth & development of the college. Late Bhabagrahi Mishra, IAS, succeeded him as the Secretary and streamlined the different areas of its functioning. Subsequently, Sri Satchidananda Mohanty took over as the Secretary and did all his best for the College. Dr. Benudhar Pradhan, as its first Principal, reared up the baby institution with all sincerity. The establishment of Kendrapara College has not only added new dimensions to the aspirations of the people of the area but it has also facilitated the spread of education to every corner of the district and beyond this district too. It imparts a high standard of teaching to the boys and girls drawn from this district and other districts of the state as well. Academic excellence is the motto of a galaxy of highly qualified and experienced teachers of this college. At present there are two hostels giving accommodation to the boys and girls coming from distant places. The Boys? Hostel has been named after Late N. C. Das, the former Secretary of the college. The women's hostel which started functioning in four staff quarters , has expanded by the addition of two new blocks accommodating 240 girls. The Library of the college has been named after Late Dinabandhu Sahoo and it contains nearly 60,748 books in the general section covering all the subjects. Apart from this, it has 10,000 books in the Book Bank,1205 books in the reference section. It also subscribes to the leading journals and magazines to cater to the needs of students, teachers and researchers. The Statue of Dinabandhu Sahoo was installed in 1984 to perpetuate his memory and his contribution to the college. The statues of Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das and Utkal Gourab Madhusudan Das, great architects of Modern Odisha, stand in front of the Main Building. With the basic assistance and development grants (from the University Grants Commission) this college has developed in different directions. The College been declared fit under section 2(f) from April, 1966 and 12(B) from 1972 of the UGC Act 1956. The UGC has conferred Autonomous status on this college from 2005-06 session on the basis of its academic excellence, infrastructure and its role in spreading higher education in the state. The state Government and Utkal University have declared this college as a full-fledged autonomous institution. The Dress Code is also introduced here since the session 2005-06. After the NAAC peer team visit to this college in the year 2005-06, this institution has been awarded 'A' Grade and now it is one of the six such graded institutions of our state. This college has also been conferred upon a rare status by UGC, i.e. ?College with Potential for Excellence (CPE)? from 2011-12 session. The UGC has granted Extension of Autonomous status to Kendrapara Autonomous College for a period of six years w.e.f. The academic year i.e. 2013-2014 to 2018-2019 including ex-post-facto approval from 2011-2012 to 2012-2013 vide Joint Secretary, UGC, New Delhi, Letter No. F.22-1/2013(AC) dated 22 May 2013.