West Bengal with its capital at Kolkata has been an important educational centre since the time of Britishers. It is one of those states of India which introduced modern education with a literacy rate of about 77.9% according to the census of 2011. The state provides a rich educational centre of learning with many leading institutes. Some of them also hold historical importance and values namely the Presidency University, University of Calcutta and Rabindra Bharati University....
West Bengal is home to about 33 universities and about 500 colleges for degree courses. West Bengal is an important place of learning for Indians as it has seven of its colleges holding ranks in the NIRF 2020 rankings for the top 100 colleges in India. The St Xavier's College holds the seventh rank. The college promises to provide 360° development of the students along with quality education, leadership building programs and co-curricular activities. The other leading institutions of West Bengal that hold that rankings are -
Indian Institute of technology located in Kharagpur is ranked at 5th position. It is one of the topmost IITs in India for engineering courses.
Jadavpur University situated in Kolkata is ranked in 17th position. It is another important centre for pursuing an undergraduate and postgraduate degree in science and technology.
More engineering institutes are ranked in the top 100 colleges in India. They are - Indian Institute of Engineering, Technology and Science located in Shibpur is ranked at 21st position, National Institute of Technology situated in Durgapur is ranked at 47th position.
Apart from the top rankings, there are various institutions in the state which have gained eminent national importance for higher education. The names include:
- Indian Institute of Management located in the capital city, Calcutta is one of the leading IIMs in India providing a hub for management courses.
- Indian Institute of Science research and education located in Haringhata is a major institute of India providing research work in applied sciences.
- Indian Statistical institute located in Baranagar provides specialization in applied sciences and social sciences.
- IIIT located in Kalyani is one of the top engineering and management colleges in India.
- National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Education located in Kolkata provides specialization in pharmacy.
- AIIMS located in Kalyani is an important medical institute for students all over India.
Including all the big names of IIT in Kharagpur, IIEST in Shibpur, Jadavpur University, NIT in Durgapur, IEM in Kolkata there are several more institutions that have gained a lot of popularity for the courses of B.Tech and B.E. Haldia Institute of Technology, Bengal Institute of Technology, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad University of Technology in Kolkata are some of the leading names.
Marine Engineering and Institute of research also known as DMET is one of the leading Institutes of India in marine training. It is located in Kolkata and is ranked second after the Mumbai Port for marine training. National Power Training Institute is a training institution set up by the central government located in Durgapur that has been providing services in the Indian subcontinent for about five decades. National Institute of Technical Teachers Research and training located in Kolkata is another training institution established especially for the training of Teachers.
One of the Twenty-four CFTI in India, the Malda district of West Bengal has Ghani Khan Chaudhary Institute of Engineering and Technology.
Footwear Design and Development Institute campus of Kolkata is a renowned educational institution for designing courses in West Bengal.
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade located in Kolkata is one of the top-notch colleges in India for management courses after the IIMs. For the law aspirants, IILS gains all the attention all over India. Indian Institute of Legal Studies is located in the foothills of the Himalayas and is one of the topmost national law Universities in India.
Visva-Bharti University is a central university for research work in arts and sciences which was founded by Rabindranath Thakur. It holds invaluable importance to India since the pre-independence era.
The state of West Bengal being the leading producer of Jute has developed a specialised centre for research on jute namely the National Institute of research on Jute and Allied Fibre Technology and also central research Institute for Jute and Allied fibres both situated in Kolkata. In addition to these, there are several other research institutes of research work in nuclear physics, ceramics, biomedical genomics, fisheries, etc.