UP College Alumni Renew Demand for State University Status

VARANASI: Alumni of Uday Pratap College have renewed their demand that the institution be granted state university status, using a campus reunion to link the proposal with calls for stronger academics, discipline, sport and residential facilities.

The gathering opened with tributes to founder Rajarshi Uday Pratap Singh Judeo and the slogan “Jai Rajarshi, Jai Bharat,” Live Hindustan reported. Speakers recalled the institution's beginnings in 1909 as Hewett Kshatriya College and argued that its legacy now deserves a larger public-university structure.

The demand draws strength from an earlier public statement by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath supporting a proposal for university status. Alumni at Monday's programme asked that the process be completed without further delay. They also called for hostels to be reopened or strengthened and for quality teaching and sports to remain central to any institutional transition.

Changing a college into a state university is not a ceremonial rebranding. It requires legislation or a formal government route, a governance structure, budget commitments, land and infrastructure assessment, academic regulations and clarity about the position of existing teachers and staff. Students need to know how affiliation, degrees, fees and admissions would change.

UP College's autonomy and history make the proposal attractive, but those same features need protection. Alumni are concerned that the founder's educational ideals should not be diluted. A credible transition plan would identify which traditions and assets remain institution-specific while giving the proposed university room to open new departments and research programmes.

The programme was attended by public representatives including MLAs Om Prakash Singh and Manjeet Singh, according to the report. Participants also observed two minutes of silence in memory of student Surya Singh. Vivek Raj Singh, Satyapal Singh, Anandeshwar Singh and Dr Amit Singh “Prinsu” were among those present.

The source report did not cite a new government order or a final timeline. The meeting therefore represents organised advocacy, not confirmation that the status has been granted. The next meaningful development would be publication of a detailed proposal and the authority responsible for moving it forward.

Alumni gatherings often look backward. This one used history to make a claim about the future: that a 117-year-old Varanasi institution should become a public university. The case will now have to move from speeches on campus to documents on a government file.

Students currently enrolled at the college should have a formal place in that discussion. They will experience the transition directly, and their questions about fees, examinations, hostel access and degree names deserve answers before any structural change is finalised.