Education in West Bengal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Kolkata has played a pioneering role in the development of the modern education system in India. Western models of education came to India through Kolkata. Many of the first schools and colleges were established by the missionaries and reformists.

Sir William Jones (philologist) established the Asiatic Society in 1784 for promoting oriental studies. People like Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and William Carey played a leading role in the setting up of modern schools and colleges in the city. The Fort William College was established in 1800. The Hindu College was established in 1817. In 1855 the Hindu College was renamed as the Presidency College.

William Carey established the Serampore College, Serampore (20 km from Calcutta) in 1819. It went on to become India's first modern university in 1827 when it was incorporated by a Royal Charter as a Danish University. Although it had the charter, it was not technically a university in the modern sense of that term.

The Sanskrit College was established in 1828. Reverend Alexander Duff of the Church of Scotland established the General Assembly's Institution in 1830 and later the Free Church Institution in 1844, which were later merged to form what is now known as the Scottish Church College, Calcutta. These institutions played a significant role in what came to be known as the Young Bengal Movement and the Bengal Renaissance.

La Martiniere Calcutta was established in 1836. John Bethune established a school for Indian girls in 1850 at a time when women's education was frowned upon in the society. The Bethune College for girls was set up by him in 1879.

The oldest medical school in Asia, the Calcutta Medical College was set up in 1835. In 1857, the University of Calcutta was established as the first full fledged multi-disciplinary university in south Asia. It was modeled on the lines of the University of London. Today it is amongst the largest multidisciplinary universities of India and offers some of the widest number of academic disciplines for study.

In 1856 technical and engineering education came with the establishment of a civil engineering college / department. This setup went through various reorganizations to finally become the Bengal Engineering College in 1921. The Jesuit administered St Xavier's College was established in 1860. In 1906, the partition of Bengal led to widespread nationalistic and anti British feelings. This led to the setting up of the National Council of Education, Bengal. This later on became the Jadavpur University in 1955. The nation's first homeopathy college was established in the city in 1880. In 1883 Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu became the first women graduates from the University of Calcutta.In the process, they became the first female graduates of the British Empire. Kadambini went to to become the first female physician trained in the Western system of medicine in South Asia. The Science College was established in 1917. The first blind school came into being in 1925.

After independence, Calcutta continued to be in the forefront of the educational scene. The Government Art College was established in 1951.The Rabindra Bharati University was established in 1962. This university offers courses in the fine and performing arts. The Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management was set up in 1953 as the country's first management institute.

The famous Indian Institute of Technology was set up at Kharagpur about 120 km from Calcutta. This is the oldest IIT among the six national IITs today.

In 1960 the Regional Engineering college (presently National Institute of Technology) at Durgapur was setup. It is amongst the top NITs in India and also among the oldest.

The prestigious Indian Institute of Management was set up in 1961 at Joka. It was the first national institute for post-graduate studies and research in management sciences. It was established with the help of the MIT Sloan School of Management and the Ford Foundation.

[edit] Major universities

University of Calcutta (CU)

Main article: University of Calcutta

Formally established on 24 January 1857, the University of Calcutta (also known as Calcutta University) was the first modern university in the Indian subcontinent. It has its main campuses in College Street, Rajabazar, Alipore and a host of affiliated colleges in greater Calcutta.

Official Website of Calcutta University

Jadavpur University (JU)

Main article: Jadavpur University

Jadavpur University (JU) is a premier educational and research institution in India.

It is located in Calcutta, West Bengal and comprises two campuses — the main campus at Jadavpur and the new campus at Salt Lake. Four specialized institutes are affiliated to Jadavpur University are Jadavpur Vidyapith College of Education, Institute of Business Management,Shrimati J. D. Birla Institute,Marine Engineering and Research Institute.

Jadavpur University is also closely affiliated to leading research institutes like the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science and the Central Glass and Ceramics Research Institute.

This university came into existence in the spirit of freedom fight movement in India, particularly the movement against the proposed Partition of Bengal. The then National Council of Bengal later came to know as Jadavpur University.

Today it has one of the best Science, Engineering and Arts faculties in the nation. Department of English, Physics, Chemistry, Comparative Literature and several departments in Engineering are well known.

However, it is very sad that the latest recruitments in the University are mostly politically influenced and as a result the standard of education is going down.

Official website of Jadavpur University

National Institute of Technology, Durgapur

Visit,National Institute of Technology, Durgapur

Rabindra Bharati University

Main article: Rabindra Bharati University

This university, named after Rabindranath Tagore,has 2 campus - one in Jorasanko in the ancestral home of the Tagore and the other at 56A, B. T. Road, Calcutta -50.The university offers coursess in Arts, Fine Arts, Visual Arts, and Economics.

Official Website of Rabindra Bharati University