My college has helped me with personal transformation. It has helped me to mature into a woman and has taught me the value of life,” says Khushboo Shah, a BA (honours) education student of one of Calcutta’s most famous women’s colleges, Loreto College. Located on Middleton Row, next to Calcutta’s premier restaurant, shopping and office zone, the institute has one of the largest and greenest campuses in the city. The aim of the college, which is affiliated to Calcutta University, is to provide a liberal arts education to women. It was started in 1912 by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary founded by Mary Ward.

Most of Loreto’s students belong to the upper class and are known both for topping university exams and for cultivating what has traditionally been known as feminine poise. Recently, the college, which is among the most expensive, has increased the number of fellowships it offers to needy students. Shah says that the college continues to “stand for academic excellence” and to promote a “balance between academics and extra-curricular activities”.

“We have moved with the times, and remained special because we are value-oriented and emphasise academic and human excellence,” says Sister Tina Farias, the principal. Loreto was the first college in West Bengal that was assessed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council for higher education institutions in India. Its graduates have been offered lucrative hotel and information technology jobs, says Sister Farias.

On offer

Loreto offers honours degrees in education, English, geography, history, political science, a major in communicative English, general courses in arts subjects and a postgraduate BEd degree. A new major in computer applications is scheduled to begin in the next academic session.

The college also offers its students enrichment courses that are not required by the university. Subjects include legal awareness, French and music. In 2004, the college started an enrichment course on “Ethics, Morality and Leadership in Modern India” with the International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership based in New York. Loreto students and US students take the course every year.

Those who have passed Plus Two with 50 per cent in the honours subject can apply for admission to honours courses. The admission fee is Rs 500 and the monthly tuition fee is Rs 150. Students also have to pay Rs 200 per month for development and maintenance, and an annual fee of Rs 2,400 for extra-curricular activities, the library and other facilities. Aakriti Tulsian, a BA (honours) education student, says that her teachers have given her “an impetus for discovery”. Her admiration for the faculty is echoed by Syandika Dutta, a BA (honours) English student who says she has benefited immensely from “the individual attention given in college tutorial classes that are devoted to the development of problem-solving skills”.

Reaching out

The Student Council is involved in many extra-curricular activities. Tulsian, president, social service society, says students have organised blood donation camps, protests against child labour and donation drives for the Little Sisters of the Poor home, Calcutta. Dutta, vice-president, debating society, says the teachers encourage students “to plan extra-curricular programmes responsibly”.

In addition to providing a college education, the institute runs a Women’s Cell that trains school drop-outs and poor girls for the National Open School Secondary Board examination. “The cell brings them into the mainstream,” says Sister Farias. “No other college does so much to care for the underprivileged.”

Satarupa Sengupta