About the Department
Since its inception in 1958, Krishnagar Women’s College is making great strides in imparting education to women in and around Krishnagar. The Department of English started its journey with missionary sisters from neighboring Churches as students who graduated from this department. English was taught at Higher Secondary level and undergraduate level as General subject till 2003 when English Honours Course was introduced and recognized by the affiliating University ,i.e. Kalyani University. The department started with an intake capacity of twenty five students and now it stands at fifty one. The final batch of three year degree (Hons.) course students graduated in 2018 and from the Academic Session 2018-2019 Semester wise CBCS Curriculum has come into effect. The department is making its best efforts to impart quality teaching to the girls most of whom come from marginalized section of society. It may be an initial handicap for both the teachers and the learners, but thanks to the sincerity of the students and the perseverance of the teachers, students come out successful and quite a remarkable number of students make it to Post-Graduate level as regular candidates in different universities while others get enrolled in distance system of learning in their pursuit of knowledge in English language and literature. One alumna of our College, Smt. Arundhati Tarafder, is now working as a State Aided College Teacher in our department since 2017.Though there is no sophisticated mechanism to track student progression and their placement, a continuous, personal contact with them keeps us abreast of their progress in career. A good number of students have cleared TET and SSC Examination and now are working as teachers in Primary, Upper Primary, in Govt. aided Madhyamik and Higher Secondary Schools. Few are also placed as Probationary Officers in Banks,in Panchayat office or are holding prestigious positions in public and private sector companies. Recently, another alumna of our department has cleared NET (LS) in June 2019 and is admitted to North Bengal University for Ph.D Course Work in the session 2020-2021.Quite a few number of students are pursuing career in nursing courses. They are encouraged to participate in various extra-curricular activities and community programs organized by the NSS Unit of the institution. The Department has three full-time teachers and one State Aided College Teacher.Two young Assistant Professors and the newly appointed SACT are actively engaged in post-doctoral and Ph.D research workand make the department proud with their publications in reputed
International journals.Faculty members are committed to imparting a kind of education that aims to broaden the perspective of the students. Thanks to the efforts of Dr.Suryendu Chakraborty, a language laboratory was set up to enhance the speaking skill of the students. The department has organized two UGC sponsored seminars in the past, one Regional Level (Inside Teaching: Options for English Language Teachers in India; 2008) and another National Level (Modern Short Story: Text and Narrative; 2011). The department organizes special and invited lectures to supplement students’s acquired knowledge on language and literature.Students of the Department get an opportunity to publish their writings in Winged Word, a wall magazine brought out exclusively by them, under the guidance of the Departmental teachers.
Few teaching methods adopted by the Department to improve the learning process are:
- Apart from chalk and talk method of teaching, the Departmental teachers uses audio- visual medium to make a lecture more engrossing.
- Reference materials and handouts are regularly provided to the students.
- Film shows on relevant topics are regularly held to enrich students’ acquired knowledge of the prescribed texts.
- Students are encouraged to participate in students’ seminars, to write, read out and comment on the papers.
- Departmental tours are organized to make students aware of socio-cultural a process that goes into shaping the literary modes.
Constraints are always there, but the department works as a committed team to reach out to the students and give them a learner-centric congenial atmosphere that helps them overcome various social and economic constraints. The Department of English is a place where students and teachers jointly appreciate literature, and this is where the students enkindle within themselves the aspirations to break the glass ceiling and leave a mark in society.