From Principal`s Desk

PRINCIPAL
Prof.(Dr.) D.K.DIKSHIT

Vidyasagar Foundation School of Education & Training is a self-financed B.Ed College, started from the academic session 2008-2009. This college had been established by the Vidyasagar Foundation for Education, Research, Development & Social Services,(VFERDS), a social organization, with a view to impart teacher\'s education. Vidyasagar Foundation had been set up in the year 2000 as a voluntary society to carry forward the ideals of Acharya Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar in respect of education and social values for the overall development of individual and the society. After establishing girls residential high School in Purulia it was found necessary for the Foundation to establish a teacher training college because without skilled and trained teachers knowledge cannot transfer properly.Vidyasagar had realized the necessity of teachers training more than hundred years ago and established with his own afford a normal School.This college was duly recognised in the year 2008 by the National Council of Teacher Education.The basic aims and objectives of the college are To develop application based, value oriented training programme, To orient teachers\' mind set up towards societal development, To achieve competency related to sports and culture, To spread the idea and ideals of Vidyasagar among the teachers and To uplift the consciousness of the teachers towards social values. It gives special emphasis on the development of various desired human values. The college was under the University of Burdwan during 2008 to 2010. It comes under the purview of Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia from the year 2011 and now it is under the University namely, WBUTTEPA, Kolkata. The college is situated little far from township in a clean-peaceful natural environment quite free from industrial hubbub and hazardous pollution. We have intake capacity of 100 students each year for admission. We have also appropriate number of learned lecturers and skilled staffs to accomplish regular classes and general day to day functioning. The academic performance of the college since its inception has been doing well , securing prominent places in the final result. A good number of trainees were engaged as teachers at various secondary schools. Beside academic studies the college has made special provision of different co and extra curricular activities. College Library and laboratories are growing gradually to take this ideal shape. Meanwhile the college has trained hundreds of secondary and primary teachers through ODL mode also. A Pre-primary teachers training programme (DPTE-M) of one year duration under the Netaji Subhas Open University, distance education mode, is running side by side. The annual intake of this training course is 50. Mainly rural girls are given priority in this course. As the college is established in the name of the great humanist Pandit Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar, the students also spend some time through different activities for propagating the thoughts and ideas of this great man.
\r\nIswar Chandra Bandopadhaya, known by his title 'Vidyasagar', had been considered as one of the pillars of Bengal renaissance. The work he began more than a century and a half ago in instilling selfconfidencein women and giving them a sense of freedom has been bequeathed to us. Raja Rammohan Roy was pioneer of the Bengal renaissance movement, Derozio had added colour to it, but it was Iswarchandra who had given a shape and direction. Such a respected and beloved son of Bengal was born at a village 'Birsingha' of district Midnapur in West Bengal on September 26, 1820. The village Birsingha during that time was under the jurisdiction of the district Hooghly of undivided Bengal. He was born in a poor orthodox Brahmin family. Thakurdas Bandopadhaya and Bhagabati Devi were his parents.
\r\nVidyasagar was very intelligent in his childhood. He learnt English numeric while he was travelling on foot to the Kolkata with his father by observing the milestones beside the road. At nine he came to Kolkata and studied at the Sanskrit College. He later became its Principal. He opened the doors of Sanskrit College to lower caste students (previously it was exclusive to the Brahmins). Even when he was a student at Sanskrit College, he would spend part of his scholarship proceeds to buy medicine for the sick and also supply cooked mishtanno (rice pudding) to feed the poor. Vidyasagar did not believe that his responsibility to the suffering humanity ended with his financial donation. He was a greatest architect of education and symbol for love and kindness and above all a staunch follower of humanity. Vidyasagar brought a revolution in the education system of Bengal. On 1850 his wrote "Barno-Porichoy" (Introduction to the Bengali script / letter) and refined the Bengali language and made it accessible to the common strata of the society. Vidyasagar worked for the upliftment of women, widow remarriage, and women's education. He fought against child marriage and polygamy too. He published two separate volumes on remarriage of widows and another two volumes on polygamy citing quotes from scriptures and explaining the validity of his arguments. He was virulently attacked by the feudal conservative vested society for his stand.
But nothing stopped Vidyasagar from what he set out to do! His iron-will prevailed in the end. Vidyasagar believed that the status of women and all kinds of injustice and inequalities that they face could be changed only through education. He founded 35 schools for girls' education and maintained those schools by his own resources. He mostly devoted his time writing reformist literature and text books. His pioneering work in Bengali prose certainly deserves the very best of appreciation. Even Rabindranath Tagore revered him as 'the father of modern Bengali prose'. At the fag end of his life Vidyasagar worked among the tribal community and in the year 1891 on 29th July, he left the world.Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar passed away on 29 July, 1891 at the age of 70 years. After his death Rabindranath Tagore said, "One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!". After his death the Nandan Kanan, the abode of Vidyasagar was sold by his son to Mallick family of Kolkata. Before Nandan Kanan could be dismantled Bengali Association Bihar on 29 March 1974 purchased it by money collected by house to house contribution of one rupee each. The Girls School has been restarted, named after Vidyasagar. The Free Homeopathic Clinic is serving local population. The house of Vidyasagar has been maintained in the original shape. The most prized property is the 141 year old 'Palanquin' used by Vidyasagar himself.
He lived as a modest man but his work of charity was that of a king. He preferred plain dress made from home spun cotton - as his mother used to make his dresses when she was alive. Vidyasagar was a lonely tall tree in the bush around him. Disaffected with petty-mindedness and confronted with selfish behavior he severed connection with his family and lived with tribal people in the last 18 years of his life. He is still in the heart and thought of every citizen and we cannot afford to put Acharya Vidyasagar in a museum pedestal and court stupefaction only.
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