The Indian state of West Bengal is the site of India's first modern university. Thirty-three universities are listed in the state by the University Grants Commission.

In West Bengal the medium of instruction in colleges and universities is usually Bengali or English. Diploma, certificate courses, advanced diploma program, postgraduate courses and doctoral programs are offered. Research programs offered by the universities are conducted with the aid of specialised institutes.

In West Bengal, the Department of Education ranks first in corruption in schools and universities, followed by the Department of Film Studies in second place and the Department of Bengali in third place. Many state universities face serious infrastructural and administrative challenges, including inadequate basic facilities, a shortage of permanent faculty, and insufficient permanent librarians and administrative and finance staff. Concerns have also been raised regarding the timely provision of course certificates at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University, Gour Banga University, Rabindra Bharati University, Raiganj University, Rani Rashmoni Green University, and Biswa Bangla University. These shortcomings may affect academic administration, student services, and the overall functioning of higher education institutions.

History

Early years Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal has played a pioneering role in the development of the modern education system in India. Western models of education came to India through this city. Many of the first schools and colleges were established by the missionaries and reformists. Sir William Jones (philologist) established the Asiatic Society in 1784 for promoting oriental studies. People like Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Ashutosh Mukherjee and William Carey played a leading role in the setting up of modern schools and colleges in the city. The Fort William College was established in 1800. The Hindu College was established in 1817, renamed the Presidency College in 1855.

William Carey established the Serampore College in the city of Serampore in 1818. It went on to become India's first modern university in 1827 when it was incorporated by a Royal Charter as a Danish University. The Sanskrit College was established in 1824. Reverend Alexander Duff of the Church of Scotland established the General Assembly's Institution in 1830 and later the Free Church Institution in 1844, which were later merged to form what is now known as the Scottish Church College, Calcutta. These institutions played a significant role in what came to be known as the Young Bengal Movement and the Bengal Renaissance. La Martiniere Calcutta was established in 1836.

The oldest medical school in Asia, the Calcutta Medical College was set up in 1835. In 1857, the University of Calcutta was established as the first full-fledged multi-disciplinary university in south Asia. It was modelled on the lines of the University of London. Today it is amongst the largest multidisciplinary universities of India and offers some of the widest number of academic disciplines for study.

John Bethune established a school for Indian girls in 1850 at a time when women's education was frowned upon in the society. The Bethune College for girls was set up by him in 1879.

In 1856 technical and engineering education came with the establishment of a civil engineering college / department. This setup went through various reorganisations to finally become the Bengal Engineering College in 1921. The Jesuit administered St Xavier's College was established in 1860. Bengal Engineering and Science University is the second oldest engineering institutes in the country and it was started in the year 1864. They offer the following programs such as B.E, M.E, MCA, MBA, MSC, B. Arch. and Ph.D. programs. Apart from this they also provide part-time courses in the evening for the professionals.

The nation's first homoeopathy college was established in the city in 1880. In 1883 Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu became the first women graduates from the University of Calcutta. In the process, they became the first female graduates of the British Empire. Kadambini went on to become the first female physician trained in the Western system of medicine in South Asia.

20th century In 1906, the partition of Bengal led to widespread nationalistic and anti-British feelings.Encyclopædia Britannica, "Partition of Bengal" http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/60754/partition-of-Bengal This led to the setting up of the National Council of Education, Bengal. The Science College was established in 1917. The first blind school came into being in 1925.

After independence, Calcutta continued to be in the forefront of the educational scene. The Government College of Art & Craft was established in 1951. The National Council of Education became the Jadavpur University in 1955. The Rabindra Bharati University was established in 1962. This university offers courses in the fine and performing arts. The Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management was set up in 1953 as the country's first management institute and is also the first in the country to offer an MBA degree of a university. The first, Indian Institute of Technology was set up at Kharagpur about from Calcutta. In 1960 the Regional Engineering college (presently National Institute of Technology) at Durgapur was set up. It is amongst the top NITs in India and also among the oldest. Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, the first among the Indian Institutes of Management, was set up in 1961 at Joka. It was the first national institute for post-graduate studies and research in management sciences. It was established with the help of the MIT Sloan School of Management and the Ford Foundation.

Institutes with national or special status Institutes and universities with particular special status or funding arrangements include: Institutes of Eminence (IoE), Institutes of National Importance (INI); central universities, Government Funded Technical Institutes (GFTI); and the deemed universities. Types with specialist functions include research institutes and universities with national recognition for their field of education.

+ List of institutes and universities with special status or funding Institution Location Status (Type) Established Specialisation Sources Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Joka INI (Autonomous) 1961 Social Sciences and Management Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata Haringhata INI (Autonomous) 2006 Natural sciences Indian Statistical Institute Baranagar INI (Autonomous) 1959 Basic sciences, applied sciences, social sciences Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Kharagpur IoEINI (Autonomous) 1951 Science, Management, Engineering & Technology, Law, Medicine Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur Howrah INI (Autonomous) 1856 Sciences, Technology, Engineering, Management Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kalyani Kalyani INI (Autonomous) 2014 Information Technology National Institute of Technology, Durgapur Durgapur INI (Autonomous) 1960 Engineering & Technology, Sciences, Management Indian Maritime University Kolkata Taratala Central University 1949 Meritime studies, Engineering National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Kolkata Kolkata INI (Autonomous) 2007 Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Engineering All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani Kalyani INI (Autonomous) 2019 Medical, Nursing Visva-Bharati University Shantiniketan INI (Autonomous)Central University 1921 Arts, Sciences, Social Work, Agriculture, Fine arts, Designing, Music, Drama Ghani Khan Choudhury Institute of Engineering & TechnologyMalda district GFTI 2010 Engineering Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science Kolkata Deemed university 1876 Natural sciences Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute Belur Math Deemed university 2005 Agricultural Management, Rural Development, Basic Sciences, Indian Culture and Spirituality National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and Research, Kolkata Kolkata Deemed university 1965 Engineering & Technology Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Kolkata Deemed university 1995 Film school TCG CREST Kolkata Deemed university 2020 Research institute Status categories: IoE – Institutes of Eminence; INI – Institutes of National Importance; GFTI – Government Funded Technical Institutes

+ Research institutes and specialist universities Institution Location Status (Type) Established Specialisation Sources All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health Kolkata Research institute 1932 Hygiene and Public Health S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences Kolkata Research institute 1986 Basic and Applied Sciences Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Kolkata Research institute 1949 Basic and Applied Sciences Bose Institute Kolkata Research institute 1917 Basic and Applied Sciences Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre Kolkata Research institute 1977 Basic and Applied Sciences Indian Institute of Chemical Biology Kolkata Research institute 1935 Basic and Applied Sciences Indian Centre for Space Physics Kolkata Research institute 1999 Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space science Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute Kolkata Research institute 1950 Basic and Applied Sciences Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute Barrackpore Research institute 1959 Fishery science Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute Durgapur Research institute 1958 Robotics, Mechatronics, Cybernetics, Manufacturing Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibers Barrackpore Research institute 1953 Jute and Allied Fibers Central Sericultural Research and Training Institute Berhampore Research institute 1943 Sericultural Research National Institute of Biomedical Genomics Kalyani Research institute 2009 Basic and Applied Sciences National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections Kolkata Research institute 1962 Medical research National Institute of Natural Fibre Engineering and Technology Kolkata Research institute 1938 Jute and Allied Fibres West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences Kolkata National Law University 1999 Law

Universities, state and private Universities in India may be public or private. Other than the central universitiesof which there is one in West Bengalpublic universities are funded by the state government. Non-government universities are privately funded. Public state universities are listed in the first table shown below, with private universities in a separate second table below that.