Jadavpur Vidyapith secures its place among top 10 schools in the country
Jadavpur Vidyapith -- the very name holds a place of pride in the hearts of both current and former students and teachers of this school and they do have many reasons to exult at its crowning accomplishments over the decades.
Parthapratim Baidya, the present headmaster of Jadavpur Vidyapith proudly recapped the success story of the institution during a rendezvous with him. Although he has taken over the mantle as headmaster only a year ago, his deep involvement with the school’s welfare was evident in the words he spoke about the school. Baidya says, “Jadavpur Vidyapith has always had a stellar presence among the government schools run by the West Bengal School Education Department. In a survey titled Education World India School Rankings (EWISR), conducted by Education World, India’s and Asia’s first education news and analysis (monthly) magazine, Jadavpur Vidyapith ranked first among all government-run schools in India, first among Kolkata district and the state of West Bengal and sixth among entire India. The board results of the school at the secondary and higher secondary levels are stellar. Based on overall results, our success rate is impressive. Our students have always been ranked in the top 10 in the state in both secondary and higher secondary examinations.”
Last year, students of Jadavpur Vidyapith performed remarkably well in both secondary and higher secondary board exams but missed attaining any of the top 10 ranks by a cat’s whiskers, informed Baidya. However, he was quick to point out that two of the students from the school secured 677 marks in secondary and 487 marks in higher secondary exams. At present, Jadavpur Vidyapith has a student base of close to 1700. There are a total of 70 teachers including para-teachers, part-time teachers, VTC, and non-teaching staff, and with their concentrated and dedicated involvement, Jadavpur Vidyapith is engaged in building a strong foundation for every student studying at the hallowed institution.
No history is made in a day. Jadavpur Vidyapith was the culmination of a dream with which Rishi Aurobindo and Rabindranath initiated the Bengal National Education Council. The school is the mirroring of their foresight that is now displayed in every sphere of the school.
Jadavpur Vidyapith has a long and illustrious history and it is intrinsically linked with the history of the "National Education Council". The main objective behind setting up the National Council of Education was to instill the feeling of nationalism among youngsters and to prevent them from entering into the clutches of Colonial Society through education imparted by Britishers. On March 11, 1906, Sri Aurobindo and Rabindranath Tagore conjoined with a galaxy of luminaries to form the Council’s first faculty. The National Council of Education, Bengal is the parent body of Jadavpur University, set up in 1955, and is also the founder of Jadavpur Vidyapith which was established on 11th March 1957.
When Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India, announced the Partition of Bengal in July 1905, Indian nationalist leaders launched the Swadeshi movement in Bengal. As an alternative to the British education system, an initiative was taken to develop an educational system to promote science and technology as part of a Swadeshi industrialization movement. To implement this initiative, a proposal to form the National Education Council was adopted at an education conference held in Calcutta on 16 November 1905. Raja Subodh Mallick and Brajendrakishore Roychowdhury promised to donate Rs 5 lakh to form the National Council of Education.
On March 11, 1906, the ‘National Education Council’ was formed with 92 members. Rabindranath’s elder brother, Satyendranath Tagore was the first president of the council. However, after its formal establishment on 1 June 1906, Rashbehari Ghosh became the president of the council and Ashutosh Chowdhury and Hirendranath Dutta became joint presidents. Rabindranath Tagore, Sir Gurudas Bandyopadhyay, Satish Chandra Mukherjee, and others were associated with this council.
Surendranath Banerjee recognized the establishment of the National Education Council as the first major constructive initiative of the Swadeshi movement. The National Education Council initially started two educational institutions: a) Bengal National College for General Science and Arts, b) Bengal Technical Institute for Technical Education. The National Education Council took the initiative to make technical education universal and compulsory. As a national curriculum, primary courses for three years, secondary for seven years, and college-level courses for four years were created and implemented. Several "national schools" came up during this phase under the aegis of the National Council of Education and that included 25 secondary schools and 300 primary schools.
In 1910, the Society for the Promotion of Technical Education established the "Bengal Technical Institute" and in 1920, it was renamed as the "College of Engineering and Technology, Bengal". After Independence, on 24 December 1955, with the consent of the Government of India, Jadavpur University was formally established by the Government of West Bengal.
During a discussion, Dr. Triguna Sen presented a proposal to fellow members and professors of the Bengal National Education Council. He suggested setting up a model school on the remaining two bighas of land occupied by the National Council within Jadavpur University premises. That's how the school’s journey started. Following Dr. Sen’s suggestion, a sub-committee was formed to design the curriculum and curriculum structure of the school. In February 1957, the then-president of the council, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, approved the establishment of the school on the recommendation of the sub-committee. Jadavpur Vidyapith was finally set up on March 11, 1957.
Jadavpur Vidyapith performed remarkably well in both secondary and higher secondary board exams but missed attaining any of the top 10 ranks by a cat’s whiskers, informed Baidya. However, he was quick to point out that two of the students from the school secured 677 marks in secondary and 487 marks in higher secondary exams. At present, Jadavpur Vidyapith has a student base of close to 1700.
‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ – goes the adage, and the educators of Jadavpur Vidyapith believe this. Hence, apart from the school curriculum, the student’s participation in sports and other extra-curricular activities is equally impressive. The students of this school have participated in various state and national-level sports events and have brought laurels for their alma mater. This year, the school table tennis team comprising Himan Mondal and Anindya Halder finished runner-up in the Bengal School Table Tennis Championship 2023. They were later felicitated by the school and encouraged to hone their skills further. The school also congratulated the sports teacher, Debashish Mondal for his training initiatives.
Along with the teachers, the students of Jadavpur Vidyapith School are equally proud of their school. I was talking to Subraj Basu, a class XI humanities student of Jadavpur Vidyapith. Subraj has been studying at the academy since Class VII. Now, he is at the threshold of bidding goodbye to ‘his second home’, his school after the higher secondary examination. He feels nostalgic and cannot get over the vast bank of memories he has gathered since his first day when he walked inside the hallowed portal of the imposing building as a meek child to one who is confident and all prepared to face the world outside and its myriad challenges as a young adult.
"Our school is rated as one of the top players among schools in the state and the country. I think Jadavpur Vidyapith will clench the top slot in the country anytime soon. Our school is at the forefront of all competitions at the national and state level. We organize theme-based Saraswati Puja annually and we have received several awards for our innovative themes and excellent execution. Apart from this, I have enjoyed the games, the annual event of the school, which is also known as Sharadotsav, and participation in various cultural activities including drama, music, and dance concerts. We are taken out on excursions and that’s a big draw that we all look forward to,” rattles off Subraj enthusiastically.
No history is made in a day. Jadavpur Vidyapith was the culmination of a dream with which Rishi Aurobindo and Rabindranath initiated the Bengal National Education Council. The school is the mirroring of their foresight that is now displayed in every sphere of the school. Perhaps, success is learning from the past and preparing itself, a lesson that Jadavpur Vidyapith has been able to inculcate.
It is an eye-opener to observe that at this juncture, when several Bengali medium schools in the state are closing due to a lack of students (like students of Patha Bhavan, a well-known Bengali medium school, will take the secondary examination in Bengali for the last time in 2024), parents are still standing in long queues, patiently waiting all night to collect forms and get their children admitted to Jadavpur Vidyapith, a Bengali medium school.
Therefore, it is quite evident that Jadavpur Vidyapith is moving forward by evolving and adapting itself to the times. Modern teaching techniques have been incorporated to keep up to date with the times. It can be safely said that Jadavpur Vidyapith will be able to set a significant example in the field of school education in the coming days by maintaining its high standard and keeping the flag of Bengali medium education flying high in the state.
