College teachers go door-to-door to revive student enrollment

BALURGHAT: In a unique initiative to boost student enrollment, teachers of Kumarganj College have taken to the streets with microphones and leaflets, travelling from village to village in a battery-operated toto.

Kumarganj College, established in 2016 by the Bengal government to provide higher education to students from remote, minority-dominated areas of Kumarganj block, initially saw healthy admissions. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged lockdown, enrollment figures began to drop significantly. Many students never returned to college after the disruption.

Determined to reverse the trend, assistant lecturer of Economics Samir Sau and Philosophy assistant lecturer Subhajit Dutta launched a grassroots awareness campaign. Armed with microphones and pamphlets detailing the college’s courses and facilities, the duo visited numerous villages and interacted with local high school headmasters to encourage students to pursue higher education. Their efforts reflect a growing concern over post-pandemic educational setbacks in rural Bengal and showcase how dedicated educators are stepping beyond classrooms to make a difference. Speaking on the initiative, Dutta said: “We want to ensure that students in this region are not deprived of higher education. With that goal in mind, we’ve taken to local outreach using a Toto to spread the word about our college.”