education in West Bengal

Education in West Bengal is provided by both the public sector as well as the private sector. The modern education system was developed by the British missionaries and the Indian social reformists. West Bengal has many institutes of higher education like –Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Marine Engineering and Research Institute, Jadavpur University, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kalyani, Indian Statistical Institute, West Bengal University of Health Sciences, University of North Bengal and University of Calcutta. History Kolkata has played a pioneering role in the development of the modern education system in India. Western models of education came to India through Kolkata. Many of the first schools and colleges were established by the missionaries and reformists. Sir William Jones (philologist) established the Asiatic Society in 1784 for promoting oriental studies. People like Ram Mohan Roy, David Hare, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Shashi Bhusan Chatterjee, and William Carey played a leading role in the setting up of modern schools and colleges in the city. The Fort William College was established in 1800. The Hindu College was established in 1817. In 1855, the Hindu College, Calcutta was renamed as the Presidency College. William Carey established the Serampore College in Serampore City (30 km from Calcutta), 1818. It went on to become India's first modern university in 1827 when it was incorporated by a Royal Charter as a Danish University. Although it had the charter, it was not technically a university in the modern sense of that term. The Sanskrit College was established in 1824. Reverend Alexander Duff of the Church of Scotland established the General Assembly's Institution in 1830 and later the Free Church Institution in 1844, which were later merged to form what is now known as the Scottish Church College, Calcutta. These institutions played a significant role in what came to be known as the Young Bengal Movement and the Bengal Renaissance. La Martiniere Calcutta was established in 1836. John Bethune established a school for Indian girls in 1850 at a time when women's education was frowned upon in the society. The Bethune College for girls was set up by him in 1879.