Bankura Christian College as a premier higher education institution is now a brand name in academia. The college has established itself as a centre of education par excellence, imparting quality education for more than a century and contributing significantly to the nation by nurturing young talents, giving them a proper shape, and enabling themselves to work for the society for the truth and knowledge and ultimately for quality human life. The college can truly boast of strong alumni in academic, administrative, financial, as well as corporate sectors. It still works to inculcate human values by the means of extracurricular activities in addition to the curricular aspects with a bid to changing the future of the nation.
Under the stewardship of Rev. John Mitchell, the Founder Principal, and with the initiatives of the Wesleyan Methodists, the college started its journey on the 29th of June in 1903 as the only institution for higher education in this economically backward region. In 1907 the college was granted approval by Calcutta University to teach Intermediate Arts (I. A.)
and Bachelor of Arts (B. A.). In 1911-12 Intermediate Science (I. Sc.) was introduced. In 1921-22 Honours curricula in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics were introduced. In 1961 it was affiliated to the University of Burdwan. Presently the college is affiliated to Bankura University (Since 2017).
The college has been the nurturing ground of the great educationists like E. J. Thompson (Translator of Rabindranath Tagore), the eminent Physicists like Sisir Kumar Mitra (Padma Bhushan Awardee, Fellow of the Royal Society, President of the Indian National Science Academy, National Professor and first Chairman of the Radio Research Committee), Abalakanta Choudhury and Sampa Das (FNA), Chemists like Purnendu Dasgupta (Professor, Hamish Small Chair in Ion Analysis, Jenkins Garrett Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry) and Asit Kumar Chakraborti (Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge), noted Historian Chandran Devanesan (First Indian principal, Madras Christian College), renowned linguists like Sukumar Sen and Khudiram Das (D. Litt. and an authority on Rabindra literature), highly acclaimed writers like Sajanikanta Das, Manik Bandyopadhyay, Ananda Bagchi, and Satindrnath Chattopadhyay. During the colonial period, the students from this college played an important role in the freedom struggle.
In 2011 the institution was recognised by the UGC as a Centre with Potential for Excellence (CPE) and it was renewed very recently in 2017 for the Second Phase. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) conferred ‘Grade A’ to the college in the second cycle of accreditation in January, 2013. The college is also enjoying the privilege of being under RUSA.
With affiliation from Bankura University, the University of Burdwan, Vidyasagar University (Distance Education) and Netaji Subhas Open University, the college is running different Postgraduate and Undergraduate courses.
The college is under the Management of Durgapur Diocese and follows the norms as stipulated by the UGC, the State Government, and the universities concerned. It has developed collaboration with different research institutes of repute, different NGOs, and State Government agencies.
The institution can truly boast of its huge infrastructure, work culture, its commitment to quality education, and its close contact with the community. The teachers are widely published in national and international journals and are committed to delivering the best kind of teaching and guiding their students. The sprawling campus, huge playgrounds, hostel facilities for both boys and girls, separate hostel for Postgraduate students, well-equipped laboratories, computer centres, Network Resource Centre, a highly resourceful library, Health Home facility, Eco Garden, Medicinal Plant Garden, use of ICTS to support teaching-learning, and, above all, highly qualified teachers are definitely adding to the excellence in education of the college.