16 students from West Bengal State University qualify for NET, SLET

Kolkata: In a significant achievement as many as 16 candidates of the English department from the West Bengal State University (WBSU) has qualified for the National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) in the academic year 2017-18. Three of the students have also bagged Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) offered by both CSIR & UGC as their stipend for doctoral studies or for their assistance in various projects.

"It has hardly happened when so many students of a single department from any university in the state have cracked the NET and SLET examinations. We are delighted particularly with the fact that more than 80 percent of the students who study in our 46 affiliated colleges are first generation learners," said Basab Chaudhuri, Vice-Chancellor of WBSU.

It may be mentioned that for the last few years, the percentage of qualifying students from universities across the state in NET and SLET examinations have hovered around 3 to 4 percent.

Chandrava Chakraborty, head of the English department of the university, feels that the exhaustive syllabus and the in-depth study of the subject have contributed to such good results. "Our department started only in the year 2009 and since its inception, we have tried to frame our curriculum in a pattern so that it matches the syllabus of the NET. The syllabus is research-oriented and the current technological trends are followed during class lectures to arouse the interests of the students," she added.

Arnab Mondal, one of the successful candidates, has already taken up M.Phil in WBSU. "The teachers have always ensured class discipline and have been always helpful in clearing up every single doubt of ours. The class strength being 35, they have been able to take individual care," Arnab said. He is a resident of Dhanyakuria village in Basirhat and his father runs a grocery shop.

Pallabi Ghosal, another successful candidate and a resident of Madhyamgram, was also all praises for the teachers of the English department. She will be doing her PhD from Presidency University.