Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira (abbreviated as RKMSM) is an autonomous post-graduate degree college and research institute located in Belur, Howrah, West Bengal, near

Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India. The tem ...

, in the Indian state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. Established in 1958 by Swami Vimuktanandaji Maharaj (one of the architects for actualising the educational vision envisaged by

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

) as a

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

teachers' training college for male students aided by the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

and affiliated to the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

(CU), it is recognised by the

National Council for Teacher Education National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is a statutory body of Indian government set-up under the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 (#73, 1993) in 1995 is to formally oversee standards, procedures and processes in the Indi ...

(NCTE) and accredited by the

National Assessment and Accreditation Council The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is a government organisation in India that assesses and accredits Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission and headquarte ...

(NAAC). As part of the Ramakrishna Mission Saradapitha (Belur), Sikshanamandira came into existence in 1958 as the third Teachers' Training College of the state.

History

Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira was established on 12 January 1958, by Swami Vimuktanandaji Maharaj. On that day, the birth anniversary of

, Vishuddhananda, the then vice-president of the ''

Ramakrishna Order The Ramakrishna Order (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Sri Ramakrishna, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossipore Hous ...

'', laid the foundation stone of the proposed college.

Swami Madhavananda Swami Madhavananda (born Nirmal Chandra Basu; 15 December 1888 – 6 October 1965) was the ninth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Biography Madhavananda was born in Baghanchra in Nadia district of West Bengal by fa ...

, the then general secretary, with many other monks and dignitaries studded the ceremony. Notable Bengali personalities such as

Kalidas Nag Kalidas Nag ( bn, Kalidas Nag; 16 January 1892 – 9 November 1966) was an Indian historian, writer and parliamentarian. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1952 and served till 1954. Early years Kalidas was born to Babu Matilal Nag. He ma ...

, Saila Kumar Mukhopadhyay attended the ceremony and discussed over the Nation's need for the trained teachers in translating into concrete the educational-objectives as propounded by Swami Vivekananda. Swami Madhavananda wanted to have similarity with names of the other institutions under "Saradapitha", and at length 'Sikshanamandira' (শিক্ষণমন্দির) was his proposal. The journey of Shikshanamandira started from 4 August 1958, when the classes began. In 1967, the complete infrastructure provided accommodation for 200 students. It was later recognized by the

(NCTE), and upgraded to a College of Teacher Education (CTE) by the

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further di ...

(now known as Ministry of Education),

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, in the year 2001. It is currently one of the five CTEs in West Bengal (others are Institute for Education for Women, Hastings House, Govt College of Education, Banipur, Siliguri B.Ed. College and Govt. Training College, Hooghly). Later in 2008, it was upgraded into a post graduate College by the NCTE. In the session 2009–10, M.Ed. course was started. On the recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the

conferred the status of an Autonomous College in favour of this institution in 2008, the golden jubilee year of the institution. From this session 2009–10, by the right of the 'Autonomy', Sikshanamandira has successfully furnished a new advanced syllabus for attaining the desired end, the propelling power behind the emergence of this institution in the year 1958 and which is recorded in its first prospectus. It started conducting examinations and publishing results and certificates of the trainees, introducing new department, faculties and training facilities. M.Phil in Education was initiated in the year 2012–13, Post-graduation Diploma in Guidance and Counseling started in 2013. It was recognised as a Study Centre of

Netaji Subhas Open University Netaji Subhas Open University (NSOU) is a state open university imparting distance education in eastern India History It was established in 1997 to commemorate the birth centenary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It has its headquarters at 1, Wo ...

for conducting ODL B.Ed. (with 200 students) in 2013, and Study Centre of West Bengal Board of Primary Education for conducting ODL D. EL.Ed. (with 100 students) in 2013. It obtained approval from the University of Calcutta to have a Research Centre so that it may conduct Programmes like

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

and other research courses starting from academic session 2014–15. The Post-graduation Diploma in Yoga education was started in the year 2016. One of the notable Hindu monks of the Ramakrishna Order,

Swami Sarvapriyananda Swami Sarvapriyananda (Pre-Monastic name Biswarup ) is a Hindu monk (Sannyasa, sannyasi) belonging to the Ramakrishna Order. He is the current resident Swami and head of the Vedanta Society of New York, a position he has been serving since Januar ...

, served as the principal of Shikshanamandira.

Courses offered

The courses are being offered by the institution include:

Primary courses

* B.Ed. (

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

) * M.Ed. (

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

) * M.Phil. (

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

) * Ph.D. (

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

)

Additional courses

* PGDGC ( Post Graduate Diploma in Guidance & Counselling) * PGDYE ( Post-Graduate Diploma in Yoga Education) * CCCEW (Certificate Course in Communicative English and Writing) * ISTTP (In-Service Teacher Training Programme)

Accreditation

In 2007, Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira was accredited by the

(NAAC) with an 'A' grade.

Hostel life

The institution predominantly allow its post-graduate degree programmes for residential male candidates only. On 13 January 1996, a separate hostel building was established; Swami Santanandaji laid the stone. The hostel building is situated at Sharat Chandra Atta Lane, Belur Math, within the college campus. For residential students, the Prayer hall is situated within the main hostel building, where ''daily prayer'', ''Bhajan'', ''Patha'', are performed in a normal procedure. According to the institution, "Discipline in day-to-day life helps to bring forth one's latent potential in a systematic manner".

Philanthropy

Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira has, one of the institutions of the

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

, stood by the side of the poor during the heyday of

COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed in the Indian state of West Bengal on 17 March 2020 in Kolkata. The Health and Family Welfare department of Government of West Bengal has confirmed a total of 13,43,442 COVID-19 positive cases, inclu ...

in May 2021. Low cost covid tests including

RT-PCR Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA (in this context called complementary DNA or cDNA) and amplification of specific DNA targets using polymerase cha ...

tests were arranged by the mission alongside opening the safe homes within college campus.

Notable people

* Abdul Mannan — former Leader of Opposition in the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...

Gallery

File:Ramkrishna Mission Shikshanamandira campus in Belur, West Bengal, on a rainy day.jpg, RKMSM college campus File:Inside view of a classroom of the Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira in Belur, Howrah, West Bengal.jpg, Ramakrishna Hall (examination hall) of RKMSM File:Inside view of the library of Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira in Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal 2.jpg, RKMSM library File:Hostel building of the Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira.jpg, Hostel building of the Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira File:Preparation of a seminar on the foundation day of the Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira 2.jpg, Preparation of a seminar on the foundation day of RKMSM, on August 4, 2022 File:Planned gardening India.jpg, Planned garden within the campus of RKMSM, July 2022 File:Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira campus in Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal.jpg, Shikshanamandira campus and its sports ground

References

External links

Official website
(rkmsm.org) {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1958 1958 establishments in West Bengal Colleges of education in India Research institutes in West Bengal University of Calcutta affiliates Education in Howrah Universities and colleges in Howrah district