Vital Statistics

• WHAT IS IT? A Montessori training institute. • WHO'S THE BOSS? Paramita Biswas is the principal. • HOW TO GET IN? Admission is on the basis of an interview. • HOW CHEAP IS IT? About Rs 2,750, per month; Rs 8,000 is required at the time of admission. • WHAT ABOUT JOBS? The institute has a placement cell. It boasts of a 100 per cent placement record. • WHERE IS IT? 179 Block-G New Alipore, Calcutta 7000053 Phone no: 24780843/24788503 Email: pbimc@yahoo.com Website: www.imckolkata.com

The first thing that strikes you at the entrance are the smiling faces of children painted on the outer walls of the building. Set up in 1981, the Indian Montessori Centre (IMC), Calcutta, had a tie-up with the London Montessori Centre and until recently, they used to award the diploma.

?But though the diploma is no longer awarded by the London Montessori Centre because of escalating costs, the study material is still brought from London,? says principal Paramita Biswas.

Course conduct

The one-year diploma course offered at IMC includes subjects like nursery foundation teaching course, Montessori philosophy, child development, child psychology, sociology, nutrition and school organisation.

In accordance with Dr Maria Montessori?s philosophy, stress is laid on sensorial activities (teaching children to differentiate between objects using their senses), mathematics, language skills, etc.

The academic session usually starts in July and around 30 to 40 students are taken in each batch on the basis of an interview. There is no written entrance exam. There are usually two to three such batches. The eligibility is graduation in any stream with fluency in both written and spoken English.

The institute has a two-month practice teaching course where students are sent to Montessori schools where they get a chance to apply the theories learnt in classrooms. This exposure makes them equipped to tackle any challenges that they might face in their future jobs.

Class apart

?Our teaching methods are highly progressive and we emphasise on developing the communicative and social skills of those who want to be nursery school teachers. That is essential to help them succeed as good teachers,? says faculty member Sanjana Vakharia.

The institute boasts of international standard equipment such as Montessori globes, botany shells, history timeline, etc, to enable students to take up jobs even in foreign countries. Little wonder that IMC-trained teachers have found employment in recognised Montessori schools worldwide in countries like the US, Australia, Singapore, Dubai, Nepal and others.

?The course is research-oriented and students undertake independent research under the guidance of teachers,? adds Vakharia.

To aid students in their research, there is a well-stocked library filled with books and magazines on early childhood education and other relevant subjects.

The curriculum too is regularly updated to include such new subjects as global warming, cosmic education, astronomy, disaster management, etc. ?The aim of these new courses is to help students cope with an ever-changing world,? says Shukla Bose, a faculty member.

Balancing act

Life at IMC is full of excitement. When not attending lectures, students participate in activities like music, dance, painting, puppetry, etc. Art workshops conducted by Shanu Lahiri and literature workshops in association with publishers like Seagull and others are held on a regular basis.

Students also bring out a theme-based annual magazine titled Early Education Magazine. A topic is chosen and then exhaustively dealt with in the magazine.

Students eagerly look forward to the annual cultural programme staged at Rabindra Sadan in September where they put up skits on subjects that they have learnt during the course.

Saheli Mitra

OLD MEMORIES

Kiran Jhunjhunwala, director, Kindled Hearts, reflects on her IMC days

IMC gave me the confidence and the necessary training that helped me realise my goal of running my own school successfully.

What attracted me to the institute was the globally recognised diploma that they offered. Apart from that, the faculty members proved to be a great source of inspiration. They were flexible in their approach to teaching, accessible and forever ready to help.

My practice teaching classes in reputed Montessori schools like Mongrace and Young Learners proved to be a very enriching experience. In the beginning, I used to be very scared and nervous. But because we studied child psychology at IMC, I could sense the moods of the kids and it made my job that much more easy.