The historic Khalsa college here has become the first amongst the colleges affiliated with Guru Nanak Dev University to be an "autonomous" college in the state.
"The status has been conferred by University Grants Commission (UGC) following rigorous evaluation process on the 121-year-old college's achievements in academic, sports, cultural arena, recognising its role in dissemination of knowledge to society at large," Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) President Satyajit Singh Majithia told reporters here.
Majithia informed that "it was a matter of pride for the institute to become autonomous in its working and they would have more academic independence, more financial security with more funds from UGC and freedom in framing new syllabi, courses or enhancing number of seats in various courses".
The KCGC official said earlier UGC had sent high-powered inspection teams, which finally submitted the report recommending the status.
He added they were open for tie-ups with top educational institutions and colleges across the globe and would also initiate the distance learning in the days to come.
