Government College, Gangtok

Government College, Gangtok, established in 1977, is one of Sikkim's principal government degree colleges and, for much of its history, the main route to higher education within the state. Affiliated to the central Sikkim University — whose degree its students receive — and holding a NAAC 'A' grade, it teaches arts, science and commerce, with commerce and history among its steadier enrolments. Its importance is largely about access: Sikkimese students can earn a recognised, centrally affiliated degree at government fees without leaving the state, in the capital where government offices, coaching and employment are concentrated. The setting is a hill campus in one of India's smaller, calmer capitals. It suits students from Sikkim and the neighbouring hills who want an affordable, established local college rather than migration to Siliguri or Kolkata.