MESSAGE FROM THE DESK OF THE PRINCIPAL
I have had the pleasure of serving as Principal of this institute since my appointment in 2003. It would be no exaggeration to state that I have witnessed the growth of this institution from its infancy to its glorious present. Berhampore College started its long and illustrious journey on 2nd August, 1963 and it was during my tenure as Principal, in 2023 that it completed 60 efficacious years. Since my appointment and even prior to it, this institution has been a pillar for the community that relies on it for imparting knowledge, growth and laying the groundwork for future success. We are engaged in an ongoing battle against educational and economic backwardness of the community that we serve. This is because the majority of our learners come from the underprivileged sections society and many of them are first generation learners from minority community.
The endeavor of this institution falls in line with the teachings of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who said, “We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.” The purpose of education and educational institutions like ours is to ensure that this fire remains ignited and helps illuminate the path towards future excellence and greatness. This, we hope to achieve by opening the students up to the world of knowledge such that their thirst for learning and quest for enlightenment is met with eager, experienced and quality guidance provided by our extremely dedicated and qualified teaching faculty. The members of the faculty have over the years garnered expertise and competence in contemporary modes of teaching-learning process such that, recently, they have been able to adapt to the changing pattern under NEP with considerable ease.
Berhampore College is known in the surrounding regions for its exceptional enrolment numbers as we draw in the eager and zealous youth from the surrounding areas. The institution places its students under the care of its 46 devoted teachers (the number includes all teachers on substantive post (21) as well as State Aided College Teachers) who work tirelessly for the benefit of the students. The college’s committed non-teaching faculty, though small in number, shoulder the work of many to keep the giant machinery running smoothly.
The college aids the wholistic development of the students and attempts to turn them into life-long learners with empathy, social consciousness and real-world skills. During my tenure as Principal, I have been able to aid their growth and steer the direction of education towards a more learner-centric undertaking by enriching the infrastructure of the campus to include several ICT enabled smart classroom and updating and modernizing the partially-automated library with 2 full time librarians to facilitate the students’ need for online as well as offline learning resources. The students are constantly encouraged to attend conferences, present seminar papers and participate in quizzes and debate competitions to enhance their existing knowledge on various aspects of their syllabus. The college also has taken strides in guiding the students with the help of various MOUs with private and public institutions and other colleges that helps them broaden their horizons regarding career opportunities and also provides much needed help with government and private sector exams.
We believe in the golden words of Swami Vivekananda, who said, “Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there, undigested all your life. We must have life-building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas.” Therefore, our periphery is not just limited to the boundary of college campus but extends to all of society. The students attempt to communicate and share their accumulated knowledge with the nearby community through various social outreach programmes under its NSS unit. The college has within its annexure, the Boy’s Hostel (Sampriti), a Guest house, Conference Hall, Administrative building, Academic Building, Boys’ and Girls’ Common Rooms, Derozio Bhavan and a Staff Quarters.
The students who graduate from our institution go on to pursue higher studies in many state and central universities within and outside our state like Visva Bharati, Bangaluru University, Presidency University, BHU, etc. The students also go on to find lucrative employment in both public and private sectors under West Bengal Civil Service, Banks and Insurance companies and other reputed companies under the IT sector and commercial sector like electronic and print media. We remain committed to our stake holders and believe in an open and honest line of communication. In the end, the college is an emerging powerhouse of learning and vocational success and despite our humble beginnings we know that greatness is achievable only through tenacious dedication to an end goal. We pledge to make the bright future of our students our end goal and work tirelessly to reach it.