Siliguri Mahila Mahavidyalaya gets virtual classroom

A virtual classroom has been introduced in Siliguri Mahila Mahavidyalaya on Tuesday. The college, at Debgram, has got the first virtual classroom facility in Siliguri town.

This is also the first state government-backed college in Siliguri to have a virtual class room.

The state higher education department gave financial help to the college to set up such a digital platform of learning.

A total amount of Rs 3 lakh was spent, said a state higher education department source.

Siliguri Mahila Mahavidyalaya was established in 1981. It is one of the most prestigious colleges in town.

It is affiliated to University of North Bengal.

“Students will benefit from the virtual classroom as they can get information from the internet and interact with students from different countries. It will help them with their studies. Our teachers have already been trained for teaching the students on how to use the virtual classroom.” said Principal Subrata Debnath.

“It is a really nice experience for the students. The technical staff also helped us a lot,” said Pradipta Basu, a history professor.

It should be recalled that the state government has decided to introduce the virtual classrooms in universities, colleges and schools. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra earlier had said in the Assembly that the initiative has been taken to let students, even from the remotest part of the state, access information related to education and developments taking place in this sector across the globe.

They will be provided high speed internet connectivity capable of handling live streaming of videos. There will also be facility for projection and audio system for better viewing of the facts. The project will come up at a cost of Rs 100 crore. This is one of the major projects of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“A student in a village does not get the opportunity to interact with an expert in a particular subject from the city. However, with the introduction of the e-classrooms, he or she can even interact with educationists and experts from educational institutions abroad,” said a higher education department source.

The e-classrooms will be set up in 732 state-aided universities and government colleges and 2,000 secondary schools in the first phase. There will be two e-classes in every institution.