All educational institutions in West Bengal to observe Students’ Week in January

West Bengal will observe Students’ Week throughout the State from January 2 to 8 next year in order to welcome them to the new sessions and new classes and also to familiarise them with the various State government schemes that are available for their benefit. The programme will be held in every school and college in the State and will also be held at the university and district levels. Preparations are also on in colleges, with committees being formed to organise the events, which would include contests and workshops and book fairs and parent-teacher meetings.

West Bengal will observe Students’ Week throughout the State from January 2 to 8 next year in order to welcome them to the new sessions and new classes and also to familiarise them with the various State government schemes that are available for their benefit. The programme will be held in every school and college in the State and will also be held at the university and district levels.

“The week shall focus on awareness of the students regarding different beneficial schemes implemented by the State government, facilitating and mobilising beneficiaries of Student Credit Card scheme, Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship, ‘Aikyashree’ (scholarship for minority students), Pre- and Post-Matric Scholarship, distribution of textbooks and ‘Subheccha Barta’ (greetings) of the Chief Minister, initiation of different activities/policies as approved by the Education Department and other cultural activities,” said an official communique.

Students’ Week was started in 2022 but was mostly held online because the State had just come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was only last year that it was celebrated widely with some enthusiasm, and both schools and colleges are expecting it to be more popular in the coming year.

“We will be cleaning the classrooms, sanitising them and putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Classrooms will be decorated and books, pens, pencil boxes; and chocolates will be handed out on the opening day. We plan to organise storytelling sessions and read out from both Bengali and English classics,” said Krishnakoli Ray, headmistress of Dhakuria Sree Ramakrishna Vidyapith for Girls in Kolkata.

“The idea is to wean them away from mobile phones and introduce them to the enchanting world of books. On a different day of the week, we will take them around the neighbourhood so that they may have a better idea about the area. We also plan to make a small flower garden in the school where older students will plant and adopt saplings that they will take care of throughout the year,” Ms. Ray said.

Preparations are also on in colleges, with committees being formed to organise the events, which would include contests and workshops and book fairs and parent-teacher meetings. Rural institutions appear to be more excited. “The parent-teacher meeting, not a common feature in colleges, is beneficial for the stakeholders. Such interaction becomes very important particularly for rural colleges,” said Ranjini Guha, professor of history at Gour Mohan Sachin Mondal Mahavidyalaya, located in a village about 50 km from Kolkata.

“We organised a range of activities in 2023, the flagship being an ‘alpana’ (design painting on the floor) competition. The entire campus was painted with beautiful ‘alpanas’ and we were overwhelmed by the skill, precision and creativity of the participants. We want to repeat that in 2024 too,” she said.