Mumbai: One of the oldest and most iconic educational institutions in the country, Fergusson College run by the Deccan Education Society (DES), has added another feather to its hat. The college, founded in 1885 by stalwarts like Lokmanya Tilak and Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, has received the status of a university. 

The State cabinet approved the proposal to convert the college into a university. The academic year of the university will start from 2019-2020. 

Fergusson College has been an autonomous institute since 2016. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had asked all the autonomous colleges, who wished to upgrade their status to that of a university, to start various skilled courses based on research and development. After scrutinising the proposal by the college, University Grants Commission (UGC) confirmed the status of the Fergusson College as a university.
 
The college will convert its 27 departments in Arts and Science streams to eight ‘schools’. The Centre and the State governments will provide a total of Rs 55 crore to the college for up-gradation of facilities. The college will create more posts and handle the recruitment procedure according to the need of the university. The cabinet also gave the approval to hand over the property of the college to the university.

Higher Education Minister Vinod Tawde said, “The government is upgrading the autonomous colleges under Rashtriya Ucchastar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). This is the first college in the State which is converted into a university.”