J.K.College

Jagannath Kishore College, established in 1948, is the oldest college in Purulia district, West Bengal, India, and recently celebrated its 75th birthday. It began as a private affiliating college of Patna University, the first college in the Manbhum district of Bihar (now Purulia, West Bengal). Gokul Kumari Devi, widow of Sri Jagannath Kishor Lal Sing Deo of the Kashipur Raj, donated one lakh rupees toward its founding, while businessman Shankarlal Singhania donated sixteen thousand rupees. It started with 109 students in the I.A. course. After Manbhum's annexation to West Bengal in 1956, the college came under the University of Calcutta, then the University of Burdwan in 1961, and was taken over as a sponsored college by the Government of West Bengal in 1963. In 2010, its affiliation changed to Sidho Kanho Birsha University. The college offers science departments including Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Geology, Computer Science, Botany, Zoology, and Microbiology, along with Arts and Commerce departments such as Bengali, Santali, English, Economics, Sanskrit, Hindi, History, Geography, Political Science, Philosophy, Education, Urdu, and Commerce. It is UGC-recognized, was NAAC accredited with a B+ grade in 2005, and was designated a College with Potential Excellence in 2010. The college has four hostels: three for boys and one for girls.