Wonder why Kolkata is called the city of joy? It’s because of the fun and festivity along with zest and zeal the city offers anyone who resides in its perimeters. And do you think Kolkata isn’t a prime location for education? The former capital of British India is known for many renowned institutes and age-old colleges within its circumference. There are several top colleges in Kolkata that have gained nationwide recognition. Some of the premium institutes in the city include IIM Calcutta, ISI Kolkata, NUJS, etc. which established the city a primed hotspot for education. How did Kolkata get a foothold of east India education? Let’s throw more light on that.
Kolkata was the first establishment of the British Empire in the early 17th century. Slowly as the British India Company gained dominance, this also impacted their surroundings. Kolkata witnessed major changes in their education system as several convent schools were established open to both the British people and the local people. This led to the establishment of Kolkata’s oldest college, The presidency college, which was known for many notable alumni such as Satyajit Ray, Swami Vivekanandha, etc. who have graduated out of this college. Several other colleges followed were Serampore college, Scottish church college, etc.
Kolkata gained a further foothold as the education hub of India, when the first medical school of Asia, the Calcutta medical college was set up in the year 1835. However, as the years passed, the city never had a proper engineering course for more than 5 decades after the establishment of the presidency university. The first engineering college was the Bengal technical institute, which was established in the year 1906.
The university was renamed Jadavpur University after the Indian Independence. In the early days, the Jadavpur University Admissions were moreover direct admissions, where seats were offered based on marks obtained in 12th grade. However, after the introduction of WBJEE, most of the technical colleges came under the Bengal examination board, governed by the government of West Bengal. The admission process for several arts and science institutes came under the PUMDET examinations, which the Bengal exam board believed that it would provide a chance for all, fair and square.
The prodigious rise in the numbers:
Statistically, when we look at the admission charts and demographics over the years, there has been a stupendous increase in the number of students from other states apart from home states. The standards of several examinations have increased to a whole new level, and WBJEE, along with PUMDET, is among the top. Apart from Indian students, there are several students from neighboring countries of Bangladesh who have appeared for these examinations seeking quality undergraduate studies in India.
This has developed a more fair chance of getting into top colleges in Kolkata and whatnot, the whole of Bengal, other than the private universities and the government-aided central universities. Kolkata’s education hub status was even boosted by the recent development of IIT-Kharagpur, known as the best IIT in India, in recent years. IIT-K rose by offering several scopes for research and development and also trained students to excel in their field. Notable alumni of IIT-K include Vinod Gupta, Sundar Pichai, etc. Kolkata’s rise in numbers and demand for admissions into several universities across the city rose owing to the massive scope of research the universities have promised to offer to the students.
And, these numbers are nowhere near to static state. It has been increasing year after year, and even students from western regions are attending WBJEE exams to gain admission into some of the renowned technical institutes of India. And adding to my previous statement, the Jadavpur University admission stats of other state students have increased by 15% from the previous decade. The most established technical institute of West Bengal is still amongst the premium institutes in the country and is at par with the top NIT and IIT’s in the country.
What’s in store for the students?
If you’re looking for good infrastructure and facilities, many colleges in Kolkata remain nothing short of magnificence. To add to that, many age-old institutes still preserve the indo-catholic and Indo-Saracenic structures that were built, and they’re nothing short of eye-watering marvels. Several lab facilities have been included inside the vast campus without altering the age-old beauty of the campus. The classrooms are modernized as per the student’s comfort, and the college life represents something worthwhile to remember in Bengal universities.
Curriculum wise, the majority of the curriculum in top universities is at par with the IIT or IIM and IISER curriculum, which shows the standard of education these universities are offering. Traditional universities still adopt the Cambridge curriculum that has been followed since its inception. Hence, the students can expect an exceptional standard of education in these universities, compared to other states and cities in India.
Kolkata has inevitably been the city with multiple kinds of entertainment and festivals, adding to the fact that Bengali people are sweeter than the Rasgulla itself. So adapting to the culture and the surroundings of any state student will be an easy job for them. Kolkata has been a land of many people and cultures and will remain to be the same. Kolkata remains the hub for major industries around the country and worldwide.
What the students expect is job scope in the city, and Kolkata is home for many head offices of several conglomerates in India. It is also surrounded by many industries and production-based companies, as it was formerly the East India company’s fortress. Kolkata is situated near the Bay of Bengal, which makes it a prime location of imports and exports, that opens up opportunities for graduates to venture into entrepreneurship. Graduates are also offered jobs across India, and for the production sector, they’re majorly hired by TATA, who have their operations center based on the neighboring state of Jharkhand. Graduates also get placed in Bangladesh and neighboring states, which justifies my point on the job scopes available there.
The city possessed nothing short of a dream location for higher studies persuasion. Everything is in line with what the student expects of his dream university, being it from the curriculum, the peer environment, teaching standards, infrastructure, cultural activities, etc. This has made Kolkata a most sought city for graduate studies and the education hub of east India.
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