Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, Balasore

About Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, Balasore

Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, Balasore is a leading institution of higher education in Odisha. It is a full-fledged Graduate and growing Post-Graduate College affiliated to F. M. University, Balasore. The College, initially called Baleswar College, came into existence on 6th July 1944 when the Government of Odisha established a Second Grade Arts College with 96 seats in the premises of the then Zilla School of Balasore. The Principal of the College became the ex-officio Inspector of the School. Both the institutions had one Governing Body and one administrative head.

In 1946 the College became a First Grade institution and the Bachelor of Arts classes opened. Apart from pass subjects the College offered Honours in English, Economics and History. The College now had its own Governing body although its Principal continued to be the Inspector of Schools.

In 1948 two more Honours subjects Philosophy and Mathematics were introduced. In the same year Intermediate in Science was also introduced and classes were held in a separate block which was newly constructed for the purpose.

In 1949 the College was renamed Fakir Mohan College vide Government of Odisha Letter No 5787-E Dated 02.08.1949 after the great Odia litterateur, Fakir Mohan Senapati who was born at Mallikashpur in the Balasore town.

In 1961 the Bachelor of Science opened. The year also saw the Zilla School shift to its own building at the Jail Road. As a result, the College was fully housed in the original school building to which necessary additions and modifications were made. Subsequently, in order to accommodate the growing number of students the Bhuyan Building Complex was acquired. The Commerce Department had been functioning from the building till it was demolished in 2018 in order to make way for a new Commerce Block to come up.

The College grew from strength to strength from 1960s onwards in terms of both new subjects introduced and students enrolled. Chemistry Honours was introduced in the academic session 1665-66, Odia in 1970-71, Botany and Zoology in 1971-72, Commerce in 1975-76, Education in 1991-92. The Post-Graduate classes in Commerce started in 1979-80, Mathematics in 1985-86, Physics in 1988-89, Political Science in 1992-93, Odia in 1994-95, Botany, Hindi and Psychology in 2018-19. Similarly, Honours in Computer Science and Bachelor of Business Administration in the self-financing mode have been running since 2000-2001. Similarly, 4-year Integrated Bachelor of Education in Self-Financing mode was running from 2015-16. It is since the 2014-15 academic session that the College has been providing one year Diploma in Tourism and Hospitality Management with an intake capacity of 50 students under the UGC Scheme of Community College. Further, the College is the only Government College in Odisha which has been approved by the UGC to run the Bachelor of Vocation Degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from 2018-19 with as much intake capacity.

The student strength has risen significantly over the years from a mere 96 in 1944 to more than 3500 in 2019. The College celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1972, the Golden Jubilee in 1995 and the Diamond Jubilee in 2004.

Fakir Mohan College became Fakir Mohan Autonomous College w.e.f. 1999-2000 after autonomy was conferred on it by the UGC vide its Letter No 249/94 Desk AC Dated 22.09.1999. The autonomy was renewed in the session 2009-10 and in 2015-16 for a period of five years and six years respectively. The Plus Two wing was separated in the academic session 2001-02. The College which now became a truly full-fledged autonomous UG and PG College was accredited by the NAAC with B++ Grade in 2006 and reaccredited with B Grade in 2014. In 2006 the College was declared by the UGC as a Centre with Potential for Excellence for a period of three years. However, excellence is a goal that the College has been pursuing since its inception.