NEF Group of Institutions

About NEF Group of Institutions

NEF Group of Institutions runs out of a shared campus on Lokhra Lalganesh Road in Saukuchi, on the western edge of Guwahati — close enough to the city that a local bus gets you there, far enough that the campus doesn't feel squeezed between traffic. Four colleges share this address under one trust: NEF College (arts, commerce, management and social work), NEF College of Pharmacy, NEF College of Health Sciences, and NEF Institute of Nursing.

The group traces back to NEF College's first academic session in 2018-19. The Assam education department cleared it with a formal NOC (No. AHE.780/2017/72, dated 25 January 2018), and Gauhati University granted temporary affiliation the same year. NEF College of Pharmacy followed in 2019, NEF College of Health Sciences in 2020, and NEF Institute of Nursing in 2021 — each one adding a professional, health-sciences wing to what started as a general-degree college. All four run under the National Education Foundation Trust, a charitable trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and recognised under Section 12A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Dr. Zakir Hussain — who holds an M.A., M.Phil, PGDM, BJMC, LL.B. and Ph.D. — chairs the trust as its Managing Trustee.

Who teaches what, and under which university

NEF's four colleges answer to three different regulators, which is worth knowing before you apply, because it decides your exam paper, your convocation, and your degree certificate:

• Gauhati University — B.A. and B.Com. (NEF College)
• Dibrugarh University — BBA, BSW, MBA and MSW (NEF College)
• Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS) — BPT and BMLS (NEF College of Health Sciences), B.Pharm and D.Pharm (NEF College of Pharmacy)

NEF College also runs Higher Secondary classes in Arts and Commerce under the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC), and holds AICTE approval for its professional programmes. Its B.A. majors are English, Sociology, Psychology and Political Science. Dr. Ghanashyam Nath is the Principal.

NEF College of Pharmacy runs B.Pharm and D.Pharm, approved by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). It's also recognised under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act and approved by the Assam Health & Family Welfare Department. Dr. Bhupen Kalita is the Principal.

NEF College of Health Sciences runs BPT (Bachelor of Physiotherapy) and BMLS (Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science), both admitting through the SSUHS Common Entrance Examination (CEE). Prof. Dr. Pallabi Goswami, a physiotherapist with an MPT in Neurology, is the Principal.

NEF Institute of Nursing offers GNM (General Nursing & Midwifery), a diploma affiliated to the Assam Nurses, Midwives & Health Visitors Council and approved by the Indian Nursing Council (INC), New Delhi. A B.Sc. Nursing programme is described on the institute's own site as being "in the pipeline" — it isn't running yet, so confirm directly with the institute before assuming you can apply for it this year. Mrs. Pallabi Chetia Nath, an M.Sc.-qualified nursing educator, is the Principal.

Campus and everyday practicalities

The Lokhra campus runs on Wi-Fi and keeps a computer lab of around two dozen networked systems for NEF College students, alongside departmental libraries. NEF College of Pharmacy occupies roughly 34,000 sq. ft. of its own, with dedicated Pharmaceutics, Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Microbiology and Instrumentation labs, plus a herbal garden. NEF Institute of Nursing runs its own Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology, Nursing Foundation, Community Health and OBG & Paediatrics labs, a seminar hall, and an on-campus hostel. Students at NEF College, NEF College of Pharmacy and NEF College of Health Sciences who need somewhere to stay generally arrange private hostel accommodation near the campus instead — worth budgeting and planning for separately if you're coming from outside Guwahati.

City buses connect several points in Guwahati to the campus, and the college offers scholarships to students from the northeastern states and minority communities, plus the standard 50% railway fare concession available to regular students. NEF College's Department of Social Work was ranked 47th among India's best social work institutes in India Today's 2022 rankings — a reasonable data point if you're weighing BSW or MSW options in the region.

The wider National Education Foundation Trust also runs NEF Law College at Christianbasti — a separate campus, not this one — along with pharmacy, nursing and health-sciences colleges in Nagaon and Barpeta. So if a law degree is what you're after, that's a different address to note.