For a long time, because of foolishly obdurate education policy of the rulers, Bengal has seen no development in higher education. After passing out HS exams, students left in hordes to other places for higher studies. This has been the picture for over 2 decades. Of late, there is an awakening on the part of powers-that-be that unless the state develops more institutes for higher learning, it will forever loose ground in the field of manpower development.
PM at IISER ceremony, Kolkata, Jul 11.
Picture courtesy Mumbai Mirror.
There is now a turning of tide with the laying of foundation of IISER (Indian Institute of Science, Education & Research) by PM on July 11. Close on its heels comes IIT, Kharagpur’s plans to open a campus in Rajarhat, Kolkata on a 10-acre plot. Will it become IIT, Kolkata? Only time will tell. IIT, KGP receives a handful grant from the union government for the same.
But, there’s more. Both JU’s engineering department and Shibpur’s Bengal Engineering University have been promoted to the level of IITs’. This means the two will now have access to more funds from the government in addition to transparency in decision-making. To cap it all, St. Xavier’s college is also pushing hard to uplift standard of education that was in moribund state for such a long time.
With so much going, it suddenly dawns that education after all is an old forte of Bengal, which has bred a large number of luminaries not so long ago. There is something in the air here that inculcates an indomitable urge to learn. We hail that.
Leave a Reply