Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, has decided to offer coaching for the teachers eligibility test (TET) in an attempt to raise money to tide over its financial crunch.
The college has decided to offer coaching for TET, which screens teachers for primary (Classes I to V) and upper primary levels in government-aided schools.
An RKM official said the college had been offering coaching for programmes like NET. It is now expanding its services ahead of the launch of the four-year undergraduate programme as more resources would be needed to develop infrastructure in a residential campus.
“We are encountering a funds crunch as the college is not getting adequate support from several quarters. Therefore, we are offering coaching for various programmes to raise resources on our own. Coaching for TET is the latest venture,” principal Swami Ekachittananda told The Telegraph.
“The college has to raise resources because we have to develop infrastructure for the four-year undergraduate programme,” he added.
An official said the college had not been getting an annual grant of Rs 20 lakh from the UGC. that it was entitled from the regulatory body on account of being an autonomous college, over the past three years.
The UGC on May 31 extended the autonomous status of the college for 10 years from the academic session 2020-21.
The grant from the state government is also not adequate. “We have to develop new classrooms and labs. Infrastructure cannot be developed without funds,” the official said.
The college in Narendrapur had in April 2022 requested contributions from alumni and others to raise Rs 6 crore for renovating its hostel and getting some new lab equipment.
Sources on the campus said the college had plans to reach out to the alumni so they also contribute to the infrastructure development for the four-year programme.
“We had received appeals for starting the TET coaching facility,” Swami Ekachittananda said.