It’s our day: Rose-red heart-shaped balloons, smiles all around, a fancy dress contest, song and dance — children of Mickey Mouse School in Alipore sure know how to celebrate the birth anniversary of Chacha Nehru, a day in advance. Picture by Aranya Sen

Three days and more than 2,000 copies sold! The response to TTIS School Directory says it all. Launched on November 10 at Saturday Club, this ready reckoner, with extensive information on 200-odd schools and montessories, has succeeded in plugging the communication gap that existed between schools and parents of the city for years.

Besides information on admission procedure, school infrastructure, timings and shifts, the directory, priced at Rs 175, provides much-sought after details like school board results of the past two years, extra-curricular activities offered by the school and even the pick-up and drop facilities.

Says Debapriya Sengupta, a doctor with the Railways: “My daughter studies in Class VII of a Dankuni school. I want to admit her to a Delhi board affiliated Calcutta school. I have booked a copy of the TTIS School Directory and feel sure that it will provide me with all the information I am looking for.”

Sudipta Bhattacharya of Siliguri, whose son is in Class III, echoed: “Next year, we will be moving into the city. While Calcuttans can at least visit the schools time and again for admission-related information, we can’t even think about travelling down to the city frequently. The directory will be our tool to overcome this hurdle.”

The turnout at the launch included school management officials, principals, teachers, parents and well-wishers. They were there to make known their whole-hearted acceptance of this guide to the city campus circuit. A lively panel discussion on ‘Management, teachers, students — let’s make parents the fourth pillar’ saw participation from MLA Barry O’Brien, school counsellor Salony Priya and Brahmachari Nigomananda of Yogoda Satsang Society of India.

O’Brien urged schools to make campuses a “friendly place” for the guardians and not restrict their visits to “parent calls” that are often organised when the child is not performing up to the mark. Salony Priya added that the the teachers need the help of parents to know the child better as individual attention is not always possible in schools.

The directory was launched by school students who regularly contribute in TTIS and had helped in the making of the directory (picture by Rashbehari Das). With copies of the reckoner flying off shelves, parents better hurry before the stock gets exhausted. To book your copy, call 033-24499229, or ask your newspaper vendor.

 

Back on campus

Milani, a reunion dinner was hosted jointly by St Xavier’s College (Cal) Alumni Association and Bengali Literary Society (BLS) of the college, in association with The Telegraph, on November 11.

Bengali Literary Society came into existence almost 75 years ago under the patronage of professor Dhirendranath Mukherjee. The reunion dinner was an extension of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Society that took place in September 2006.

The team of current students of the college kicked off the evening with a presentation of solo songs and folk dances which portrayed the richness of the age-old Bengali culture, literature and language.

Former secretaries of the Society turned out in ethnic Bengali attire and participated in the programme with much enthusiasm. A mouth-watering spread of Bengali delicacies, served on clay plates, added to the homely ambience of the get-together.

While the ex-Xaverians talked over food, the soothing strains of baul in the background brought back a flood of memories from college days.

Pro vice-chancellor of Calcutta University Suranjan Das and principal of St Xavier’s College Father P.C. Mathew addressed the crowd.

Abhisek Banerjee,
1st yr, MA journalism and mass comm, CU

 

Destination UK

Around 60 per cent of the students visiting the British Council organised Education UK Exhibition 2006 on November 7 and 8 at Taj Bengal, were looking for postgraduate degrees from universities in UK. Vocational courses were also in demand.

Seminars held at the venue helped students gather information on scholarships, student visas, courses in business and management, IT, engineering, biotechnology and law. Around 56 educational institutions participated in the fair.

“I want to study in the UK as the courses there are shorter in duration. I am mainly looking for business and management courses,” said 18-year-old Ishita Dalmiya, who is a Class XII student of Loreto House.

UK is one of the favourite educational destinations for Indian students as participating institutes received a good feedback. “The response is quite satisfactory. Most of the students who visited our stall were looking for postgraduate courses, but there were high school students as well. They were looking for undergraduate courses,” said Ursula Henry, deputy director, University of Liverpool.

Professional courses were much in demand. “I am opting for engineering courses in universities like Derby and Liverpool,” said Arpan Roy, a Class XI student of MC Kejriwal Vidyapeeth. Swagata Ghosh of Presidency College said she is looking forward to specialise in development and international economics.

Nabamita Mitra