About Us
The Legacy
Sree Chaitanya College, Habra occupies a very distinguished status in the higher education map of the district of North 24 Parganas as well as of the state of West Bengal. The institution with its imposing building-structures amid a lush green of more than 20 acres of land, overlooking Jessore Road (NH 35), is about 40 km from Kolkata. The college was established in 1956, primarily to cater the need of the thousands of hapless youth who, owing to partition of the country were forced to settle almost as paupers in this part of the state but had nourished deep in their hearts an inextinguishable urge to pursue higher education to overcome their present miseries.
But their dream would have never been realised without the initiative of the Habra Siksha Parishad and kind patronage of Government of West Bengal under the legendary Chief Minister, the late Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. However, the project was given a proper shape by the youngest Minister in the Roy-Cabinet, the late Tarun Kanti Ghosh, who was also an MLA from Habra. The College began its journey in the premises of Habra High School; then shifted to site of Bangiya Christian Council; and finally to its present premises on October 5, 1958. It is a matter of prestige that in October 1958, the Government of India recognised the institution as a Degree College on sponsored basis, dedicated mainly to the education of the displaced students from the erstwhile East Pakistan, in the Intermediate and Bachelor Degree in Arts and Science, with affiliation from University of Calcutta, with effect from the academic session 1958-59.
As time rolled on, the College grew into a giant academic institution with Honours Departments in Arts and Science subjects. The College has always been blessed with a bunch of gifted teachers, with brilliant academic career, and a band of dedicated non-teaching staff, including librarians. The hard work of the whole of the College staff has helped produce generations of excellent students with very good academic results, many of whom have become university-toppers. Many of our former students have been very successful in life as school/college/university teachers; researchers in renowned institutions in India and abroad; bureaucrats and technocrats in government services or business corporations; journalists, authors and theatre personalities of repute.
This is where today's magnificent Sree Chaitanya College was taking its baby steps during early days of inception in 1956.
I. Providing financial assistance to the deserving needy students: The Teachers' Council maintains a Fund with an objective to provide financial assistance, without any kind of discrimination whatsoever, to students from financially impoverished families who exhibit genuine interest and potentiality in academics.
II. Remedial classes for academically weak students: Remedial classes are conducted by most departments to address the difficulties of students in need of additional academic support .Study materials are provided to them to make them exam ready. The teachers consider this service to be a part of their commitment towards upliftment of students.
III. Preparing students for competitive exams:The teachers of our institution are deeply involved in the career of the students. They realise that unless our students fare well in the various job oriented competitive examinations, their future will remain uncertain.With this mission a MoU has been signed with an organisation imparting professional training to train our students for the competitive examination at a nominal fee. Regular classes are held on Sundays (10 am to 12pm) within the college campus. Students mainly from the outgoing batches are inspired to join this classes.
IV. Psychological Counselling: We appreciate the importance of mental health of our students and staff .Since mental health is closely associated with performance and skill development. Confidentiality is observed in the functioning of the psychological counselling cell. Teachers professionally qualified in the area are internal resources who monitor the functioning of the cells .
From 2008, with the founding of the West Bengal State University (WBSU), the College came to be affiliated to it, with effect from the academic session 2008-09. We offer 14 courses in Honours subjects and 16 courses in General subjects according to syllabi framed by respective Boards of Studies (BOS) of WBSU. Although, the College does not enjoy autonomy to frame syllabi/curricula at the Undergraduate (UG) level, a few teachers, in the capacity of being the members of the UG-BOS of their respective subjects, take part in syllabus-framing. Here, it would be appropriate to mention that for last few years, we have also introduced Post Graduate (PG) Courses in Anthropology, Chemistry and Bengali, with huge response from the students' community. In these Courses, the College has its own PG-BOS, which frame their own respective syllabus, and thus contribute to the development of higher education. Beside regular courses, we also offer distance education courses both at the UG and PG levels as a unit of Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU) The regular UG Courses are of three years, which a student must complete within a maximum span of five years as per University regulations. Students enjoy freedom to switch over to a new subject or stream within three months from the date of admission, according to Merit List and subject to vacancy. They are admitted to Honours Courses purely on the basis of results in the Higher Secondary and equivalent examinations. Seats are reserved for the students from SC/ST/OBC background as per rule The College has a huge treasure of valuable reference as well as text books, kept in the Main Library and Departmental Libraries. The science departments are equipped with most up-to-date laboratories and scientific instruments. Most of the departments have their computers with internet facilities; some science departments have computer laboratories. The students also enjoy the facilities of ICT classrooms. Some departments have ICT classrooms of their own, some departments avail this facility jointly A detailed academic calendar, showing the allotment and workload, time frame and internal examinations schedule, is made at the beginning of each session. Class-room teaching is supplemented by (i) occasional holding of seminar-lectures on particular topics; (ii) arrangement of lectures by students; (iii) publication of departmental journals as well as wall-magazines;(iv) educational tours; and (v) special lectures by eminent teachers of universities and other colleges The College also follows the RTI Act, and has set up a Public Information Cell. Some other Cells that need special mentioning are: a) Anti-sexual harassment Cell; b) Anti-ragging Cell; c) Career Guidance Cell; d) Women's Cell and e) Research and Development (R&D) Cell. Recently, a Campus Film Society came into being with affiliation fromFederation of Film Societies of India (this National Body was founded in 1959, with the legendary master Satyajit Ray as the President, and at times, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting, had been the Vice-President) to inculcate the value of cinematic appreciation of feature as well as documentary masterpieces. In West Bengal, only two 'Campus' Film Societies exist till now: one at Visva Bharati Kala Bhavan and the second is our institution In short, our idea of academic excellence is holistic. This means that we ask ourselves continually what comprises excellence in education. We do not limit ourselves to covering the prescribed syllabus, though no latitude is entertained in this respect. But, looking beyond the boundaries of the syllabi, we also continually ask what education in a holistic sense should involve and how best to attain it Finally, we firmly believe in an all-round development of our students. We encourage them to seriously take up co-curricular and extracurricular activities along with academic pursuits. We have more than one play grounds, an open-air theatre and one auditorium. Besides, there are separate well-equipped gymnasiums for boys and girls. We also provide separate indoor games facilities for boys and girls. The elected Students' Union organises, with the guidance of teachers and staff of the College, annual sports, cultural programmes and various social welfare activities, and helps to develop and maintain ideal and healthy student-teacher-administration relations Thus, there is no doubt that Sree Chaitanya College, Habra all along has stood for the holistic development of the students. It has spelt out its vision of sharing learning with humanity for a very human cause to transform citizens, who, in turn, shall change our society into a place, where, in the words of Rabindranath Tagore:
"..the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit"
Sree Chaitanya College of Science and Arts, situated in Habra, North 24 Paraganas, West Bengal was founded in 1956. We are proud to state that with the arrival of this new year 2016, Sree Chaitanya College has stepped into the 60th year of it's glorious service. Our year- long Diamond Jubilee Celebration is scheduled to be inaugurated on Sunday, the 10th of January 2016, by the Hon'ble Higher Education Minister of our state, Dr. Partha Chatterjee. It is a matter of great significance for us that our 2nd cycle of Reaccreditation by NAAC coincides with our Diamond Jubilee This educational institution occupies a distinguished status in the higher education map of the district of North 24 Paraganas, as well as of the state of West Bengal. With the passage of time this college has grown in all dimensions. An accomplished and sincere group of teachers and librarians along with a band of dedicated non-teaching staff has always been the strongest asset of this institution Sree Chaitanya College was initially affiliated to the Calcutta University from its first academic session of 1956-57. However, with the foundation of the West Bengal State University in 2008, the college came to be affiliated to it. Presently the college offers 14 courses in Honours subjects and 16 courses in General subjects.We have also introduced Post Graduate courses in Anthropology, Bengali and Chemistry. Besides regular courses we also offer Distance Education courses at both Under Graduate and Post Graduate level as a unit of Netaji Subhash Open University At Sree Chaitanya College our idea of academic excellence is holistic.We have all along stood for the overall development of the young minds of our students. With this view a number of cells have been established that caters to the extra- curricular requirements of our students.We consider social awareness and commitment to social causes an integral aspect of education. For this, discussions on issues of social relevance are conducted frequently to keep our students informed of the parameters of the changing times.