West Bengal is one of the first states in the country to introduce western education. The state has well defined education departments. The state government offers equal educational opportunities to the students belonging to the urban as well as rural sectors.
The education system in West Bengal is undergoing radical change. As of August 25th 2011, the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education proposed that from the year 2014, the state will do away with "subject-wise" marking system and adopt the system of "aggregate marks" instead.
In the event the new proposal being accepted, students who write class XII examination in the year 2014 will be getting aggregate scores of all subjects taken together.
Similar proposals are underway for Madhyamik or class X examination as well. Earlier, students used to get marks for every subject and the aggregate was not provided. With the new proposal, students will get aggregate of all subjects in their mark sheet. So, school education is undergoing changes in the state.
Another measure taken by the state government to facilitate coaching for aspiring civil service students is that the state is planning to set up a tutorial center for such students. The IAS tutorial center is expected to start operating at Bidhan Nagar College.
Education system in West Bengal
The first education tier in the state is schooling followed by college and university education. Thereafter, a student has ample opportunities to pursue higher studies in professional fields without the need to move out of the state as the educational system in the state is quite well developed and offers quality education to the students not only of this state but also to students traveling to this state to pursue education.
The school education system in the state is regulated by few governing bodies that include the West Bengal Board of Madrassa Education, West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education, West Bengal Board of Secondary Education, and West Bengal Board of Primary Education. These educational bodies look into matters related to designing course structure, syllabus, and examination evaluation.
Technical education in West Bengal is taken care of by Department of Technical Education and Training. The department monitors and governs academic programs at the diploma level courses offered by the polytechnic institutes, Industrial Training Institutes, Non Formal Vocational Institutes, Junior Technical Institutes, and other technical courses extended through the NGO as well as Zila Parishads.
Schools in West Bengal
There are many stages of primary education in West Bengal starting with class I through class V. As far as upper primary education is concerned, it begins from class V to class VIII and high school is from class IX to X. The higher secondary tier includes classes XI and XII. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education looks into matters related to classes XI and XII. There are 4 regional offices of the council and the head office of the council is located at Salt Lake, Kolkata.
Given below are names of few schools in the state and their affiliating boards:-
| Name of schools | Location | Affiliating board |
|---|---|---|
| South Point Hig School | Kolkata | CBSE |
| DAV Model School | Kharagpur | CBSE |
| Central School for Tibetans | Darjeeling | CBSE |
| St Xavier's School | Pedong | ICSE |
| Don Bosco School | Kolkata | ICSE |
| Mahadevi Birla School | Kolkata | CBSE |
State Board schools in West Bengal
| Name of schools | Location | Affiliating board |
|---|---|---|
| Bankura Banga Vidyalaya | Bankura | WBBSE |
| Chandipur BRS High School | Malda | WBBSE |
| Kantore Mahadev High School | Midnapore | WBBSE |
colleges in West Bengal
West Bengal has Science, Arts, and Commerce colleges that offer study programs at the undergraduate as well as Post graduate level. The list below provides names of few of them.
A.B.N Seal College in Coochbehar affiliated to North Bengal University
Courses offered - B.A, B.Sc, B.Com
Acharya Prafulla Chandra College at Barrackpore
Courses offered - Integrated courses in Sales Management, Advertising, and Sales Promotion
Behala College in Kolkata affiliated to Calcutta University
Courses offered - B.A, B.Com, B.Sc
Presidency College in Kolkata
Courses offered - B.A, B.Sc, M.Sc, M.A
Lady Brabourne in Kolkata
Courses offered - B.A, B.Sc, Doctorate, Research
St Xavier's College in Kolkata
Course offered - B.Com, B.B.A, B.A, B.Sc, M.Sc, M.Com, B.Ed, Certificate and Diploma
Loreto College in Kolkata
Courses offered - B.A, B.Sc
Goenka College for Commerce and Business in Kolkata
Courses offered - B.Com , M.Com, MBA
The popular universities in West Bengal are as follows-
Jadavpur University
Bengal Engineering and Science University
West Bengal University of Technology
North Bengal University
Visva Bharati University
Calcutta University
Rabindra Bharati University
Professional options in West Bengal
West Bengal Technical Education and Training Department plays an instrumental role in imparting career oriented and professional courses in the state of West Bengal.
The table below has the names of colleges along with the courses offered and the eligibility criteria.
| Type of Colleges | Name of the colleges | Courses offered | Eligibility criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | Aryabhatta Institute of Engineering and Management/Asansol Engineering College/Academy of Technology | B.E/B.Tech | West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination |
| Law | Haldia Law College/Balurghat Law College/Jalpaiguri Law College | LLB | Common Law Admission Test |
| Medical | Calcutta National Medical College/Nilratan Sircar Medical College/RG Kar Medical College | MBBS | West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination |
| Polytechnic | Asansol Polytechnic/Birla Institute of Technology/Coochbehar Polytechnic | Diploma in engineering | West Bengal Polytechnic Entrance Exam |
| Management | Amity Global Business School/Burdwan Institute of Management and Computer Science/Department of Business Management | MBA | Joint Entrance Management Aptitude Test |
Some Top Colleges:-
Top Engineering colleges in West Bengal
- Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College, Jalpaiguri
- Muzaffar Ahmed Mahavidyalaya - Salar, Kolkata
- Om Dayal Group of Institutions, Howrah
- Modern Institute of Engineering and Technology - Hooghly
- Panchur College - Kolkata
Top MBA colleges in West Bengal
- National Institute Of Human Development, Kolkata
- Department Of Business Administration, Kalyani University, Kolkata
- The Institute Of Computer Engineers (India), Kolkata
- Bengal Engineering College - School Of Management Sciences, Howrah
- Rai Foundation, Rai University, Kolkata
Top MCA colleges in West Bengal
- Haldia Institute of Technology , Purba Medinipur
- ABS Academy
- Amity Global Business School
- Army Institute of Management
- College of Textile Technology
Top B.Ed colleges in West Bengal
- Institute of Education - Haldia, Purba Medinipur
- Manbhum Institute of Education and Social Science, Purulia
- Jiaganj Institute of Education and Training, Murshidabad
- Bijoy Pal Memorial BEd College, Burdwan
- Siliguri B. Ed. College Baramohan Singh Jote, Darjeeling
Top Animation colleges in West Bengal
- The Academy Of Animation Arts & Technology , Kolkata
- Maya Academy Of Advanced Cinematics Rash Behari Avenue Kolkata, Kolkata
- Blue Iris Advance Cinematics Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
- Arena Multimedia Kolkata
- Toonzwebel Academy, Kolkata
- Arena Animation - Park Street, Kolkata
Top Music colleges in West Bengal
- Bengal Music College University of Calcutta, Kolkata
- Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata
- Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya Faculty of Arts, Howrah
- Vishwabharati, Birbhum
Top Advertising colleges in West Bengal
- Cooch Behar College, Cooch Behar
- Gokhale Memorial Girls College, Kolkata
- TASMAC College, Kolkata
Top Arts colleges in West Bengal
- Seth Soorajmull Jalan Girls College, Kolkata
- Prafulla Chandra College, Kolkata
- Lalbaba College, Howrah
- Netaji Mahavidyalaya, Hooghly
- Kaliyaganj College, Uttar Dinajpur
Top Commerce colleges in West Bengal
- Surendranath Evening College, Kolkata
- Purash - Kanpur Haridas Nandi Mahavidyalaya, Howrah
- Kalna College, Burdwan
- Nabagram Hiralal Paul College, Hooghly
- Heramba Chandra College, Kolkata
Top Dance colleges in West Bengal
- Visva-Bharati, Kolkata
- Rabindra Bharati University
Top Fashion Design in West Bengal
- Anima Institute of Fashion
- Footwear Design & Development institute
- National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
- Birla Institute of Liberal Arts & Management Sciences, Kolkata
- Government College of Engineering and Textile Technology , Kolkata
Top Journalism colleges in West Bengal
- Oxford College of Education
- Rabindra Bharati University
- Shri Shikshayatan College
- University of Calcutta
Top Law colleges in West Bengal
- The WB National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata
- Bimal Chandra College of Law, Murshidabad
- Midnapore Law College, Midnapore West
- Haldia Law College, Midnapore West
Top Acting/Drama colleges in West Bengal
- Satyajit Ray Film Institute, Kolkata
- Faculty of Fine Arts, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata
- St. Xaviers, Kolkata
Top Medical colleges in West Bengal
- Bankura Sammilani Medical College , Kolkata
- RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata
- North Bengal Medical College, Darjeeling
- Nilratan Sircar Medical College, Kolkata
- Midnapore Medical College, Midnapore West
Top Science colleges in West Bengal
- University of Calcutta
- University of Burdwan, Burdwan
- University of North Bengal, Darjeeling
- A B N Seal College
- Prafulla Chandra College, Kolkata
Education for non resident students
The state of West Bengal has reserved a specific percentage of seats for the students who do not have domicile in the state. Students appearing for entrance exams in the state belong to different boards (ICSE and CBSE) from other states. State board students also appear for the joint entrance test.
In December 2010, the state of West Bengal announced a 17% reservation for students belonging to OBC or Other Backward Castes.
Education for Foreign students in West Bengal
As per the DASA (Direct Admission of Students Abroad) scheme, foreign students can enroll directly into National Institute of Technology located in Durgapur.
Guest houses and hostels in West Bengal
The list provides name of hostels for students in West Bengal
Nehru Hall of Residence Kharagpur
Youth Hostel Kolkata
Trans Aid in Kolkata
Bodhi Guest House in Kolkata
Snow Lion Homestay
Ask Question
