Govt Mohindra College seeks new campus for expansion

PATIALA: Government Mohindra College Patiala one of the oldest and most prestigious institutes of the Northern India has put in a request with the Punjab Higher Education Minister and the district authorities seeking the campus of Mohindra Kothi from where Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Punjab was being run before it was shifted to the new Sidhuwal campus

Updated At : 07:15 AM Oct 28, 2015 IST

The 140-year-old Government Mohindra College in Patiala. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

Gagan K Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 27

Government Mohindra College, Patiala, one of the oldest and most prestigious institutes of the Northern India, has put in a request with the Punjab Higher Education Minister and the district authorities seeking the campus of Mohindra Kothi from where Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, was being run before it was shifted to the new Sidhuwal campus.

The move comes in the wake of the fact that the strength of the college has increased a lot during the past three years following the induction of new courses and the college authorities are finding it inconvenient to adjust the students in the already existing building. They have even proposed to spend Rs 1 crore from their Higher Education Society funds for the maintenance of the Mohindra Kothi.

While the strength of Mohindra college was about 4,800 in 2012, it has increased to 7,500 in session 2015-16. Currently, the college is running 14 undergraduate courses and 16 postgraduate courses in different streams, including science, humanities, computer science, commerce and managements and law. Following this increase, the authorities are finding it difficult to hold proper classes despite the fact that they have fixed the number of seats for different courses.

Therefore, the college has urged the district administration to allow them to shift a few of its courses in the Mohindra Kothi, which is lying vacant for the past two years.

College principal Dr Sukhbir Singh Thind said: “Though we have been constructing new buildings, including hostels for girls, the strength is at an all-time high”.

“We cannot refuse admission to students since most of them have scored above 80 per cent. Therefore, we have got in touch with the authorities and will be meeting the Higher Education Minister soon in this regard to ensure that it solves our purpose. It should be mutually beneficial since we will maintain the heritage building of the Mohindra Kothi and he has assured me that they would soon find out a way in this regard,” said Dr Sukhbir Singh Thind.