Santragachi Kedarnath Institution (or Santragachi K.N. Institution) is a government sponsored, Bengali language,
higher secondary
Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate, Higher Secondary Education Certificate (HSEC) or Intermediate Examination is a secondary education qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is equivalent to the f ...
school in
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
in the state of West Bengal, India. The first Bengali language medium school of
Howrah district
Howrah district (, ) is a district of the West Bengal state in eastern India. Howrah district is one of the highly urbanized area of West Bengal. It has thousands of years of rich heritage in the form of the great Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut. ...
, it was founded as Santragachi Minor School by
Kedarnath Bhattacharya
Baboo Kedarnath Bhattacharya (1822-1915) was an influential zamindar, financier and the first Indian vice-chairman of Howrah Municipal Corporation
Howrah Municipal Corporation (abbreviated as HMC) is the local government of the city of Ho ...
in 1857, and became the Santragachi Kedarnath Institution in 1925.
Ashutosh Mukherjee
Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee (anglicised, originally Asutosh Mukhopadhyay, also anglicised to Asutosh Mookerjee) (29 June 1864 – 25 May 1924) was a Bengali mathematician, lawyer, jurist, judge, educator, and institution builder. A unique figure i ...
, the second Indian Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
laid the foundation stone in 1920.
The school shares the same campus with Santragachi Kedarnath Institution (for Girls) and Santragachi Kedarnath Institution Primary Section (Co-ed) (I-IV).
History
The
Santragachi
Santragachi is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Santragachi Junction in Santragachi is one of the five interc ...
and
Ramrajatala
Ramrajatala is a neighbourhood in Howrah of Howrah district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). Ramrajatala is under the jur ...
areas in
Howrah
Howrah (; ; alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River, opposite to its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively ...
were previously undeveloped. There were only two high schools; "Santragachi Madhya Engreji School" and "Chakraberia Madhyamik School". Both were English medium and aided by the Government. A "toll" or "pathsala" was started in 1770 by the Bhattacharya family. In 1800, Gourikanta Bhattacharya expanded the toll which existed up to 1860. In 1857, zamindar
Baboo Kedarnath Bhattacharya established a vernacular Bengali medium school with the help of Government aid. It was the first vernacular Bengali medium school to receive Government aid.
In 1864, this school was demolished by cyclone, and was removed to the house of Kedarnath Bhattacharya, where it stayed for two years. At a cost of ₹4000/- a new pucca building was constructed for the school. In 1870, this school was amalgamated with Santragachi Madhya Engraji School and named the Santragachi Minor School.
An educationist and zamindar, Manmatanath Seth, wanted to build a high school for the children of the locality, so he donated a grant of money. The Kar brothers (Mahendranath Kar, Upendranath Kar and Narendranath Kar) donated land, but Manmatanath Seth died before the High school could be constructed. The Kar brothers built the school using the donations for the students of Santragachi Minor School and in November 1925, this was named "Kedarnath Institution" in the name of Baboo Kedarnath Bhattacharya who had died in 1915.
The foundation year is now considered as 1925.
The foundation stone was laid by the vice-chancellor and professor of
Ashutosh College,
Ashutosh Mukherjee
Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee (anglicised, originally Asutosh Mukhopadhyay, also anglicised to Asutosh Mookerjee) (29 June 1864 – 25 May 1924) was a Bengali mathematician, lawyer, jurist, judge, educator, and institution builder. A unique figure i ...
on 17 July 1920. From 1925, the newly named institution started functioning with 225 students in six classrooms. In 1926, the class for the ninth standard started with the temporary permission of
Calcutta University
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
, and in 1927, after the completion of the tenth standard, the school's students were sent for board exams the first time. In 1933, the school received its permanent affiliation from the
West Bengal Board. In 1960, the school was recognised by the
University Of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...
, to impact Elementary Scientific knowledge and Elementary Mechanics to the students.
Infrastructure
The school's main building consists of ''Ram Charan Sett Block'', ''Guest Keen Williams Block'', ''Rupen Kar Memorial Block'', ''Upendranath Kar Block'', ''Sarba Sikhya Bhaban'', ''Ramkrishna Das Block'' and ''Satish Chandra Block''. The main building contains about 25 classrooms, and Chemistry, Physics, Geography, Optics, Biology and two Computer laboratories. A smart room is under construction.
In front of the school there is a small playground having an open stage ''Bhagini Nivedita Muktomoncho''. In the backside of the building, there is a big playground (over 2900 m
2 or 31000 feet²) used for sports and other functional purposes. Besides the field, the three storied Jubilee Block contains 6 classrooms, a library and a hall with adequate sound system and capacity of taking about 150 students. An auditorium is planned on the third floor of this block, which is under construction.
Academics and extra-curriculum
Affiliations and curriculum
The school is affiliated to
West Bengal Board of Secondary Education
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) is the West Bengal state government administered autonomous examining authority for the Standard 10 examination (or secondary school level examination) of West Bengal, India
Indi ...
for V-X and
West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education
The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) is an Indian examining authority (School Educational Board), which is responsible for conducting examinations for standard XII for both government and private schools affiliated to ...
for XI-XII. In the higher secondary, there are three streams:
Arts (Humanities), Commerce and Science.
The
Arts (Humanities) department offers
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
,
Philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, Modern Computer Application, Education, Nutrition,
Environmental Studies
Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...
and
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
.
The
Science
Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
department offers
Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
,
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
Biological Science
Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...
,
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...
, Modern Computer Application,
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
Nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
,
Environmental Studies
Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...
and Agriculture (vocational subject).
The department of
Commerce
Commerce is the organized Complex system, system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to the smooth, unhindered large-scale exchange (distribution through Financial transaction, transactiona ...
offers
Accountancy
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...
,
Business studies
Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...
, Costing and Taxation, Commercial Law and preliminary auditing, Mathematics,
Environmental Studies
Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...
and Modern Computer Application.
Sports, scout and events
The school's
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team is one of the most reputed teams in the interschool football competitions in Howrah. It participates in
M P Cup and Reliance Foundation Youth Sports National School Championships. The school won the ''Bandhutas ''Amit Bosu Smriti Amantran Football Competition'' in 2013 (defeating
Howrah Zilla School in final), in 2018 and in 2020. In 2018, the school also won "Barkuni Smiti Cup" held at
Jagacha High School. The school has also its own tournament and other sports events.
Saraswati Puja
Vasant Panchami , also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways ...
is a special event at this school. The school received numerous reputed awards for its famous Saraswati Puja (ie. "The Telegraph" Second Best Saraswati puja award'' in 2014, ''Eisamay Palaspriya Samman Award in 2018 etc.). The school too hosts and participates in various quiz, drama or debate shows.
The consumer committee spreads awareness about and the Reunion Committee organizes a reunion and other alumni events. ''National Green Corps'' was formed in 2006, under a Governmental Campaign. Successfully running up to 2013, the activities have been stopped.
The
National Cadet Corps (NCC) trainings were offered previously. It was controlled by 41 Bengal Battalion NCC, Howrah-03. But the programme was again replaced by scout activities.
The school's scout group is under
The Bharat Scouts and Guides
The Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) is the national Scouting and Girl Guides, Guiding association of India. The national headquarters of BSG is recognised by the Government of India.
Scouting was founded in India in 1909 as an overseas branch of ...
. The group control and manage school programmes and take part in various contests, competitions and exhibitions formed in school as well as outside. Every year, numerous scout camps take place in various places. Many students from this scout group have been chosen for the Rajyapuraskar and Principal Scout award, the highest awards for scouters. The trainings have been conducted by many notable scoutmasters like Bimal Kar (during 1947), Kali Sankar Mukherjee etc.
Notable alumni
*
Kanailal Bhattacharyya, politician
*
Santanu Chaudhuri, researcher at
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Lemont, Illinois, Lemont, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1946, the laboratory is owned by the United Sta ...
*
Raviranjan Maitra
Rabiranjan Maitra is an Indian film director and editor who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His most notable works include Tobu Mone Rekho (1994), Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), Raatporir Rupkatha (2007), Rok Sako To Rok Lo (2007), Challenge ...
, actor and producer
*
Rudranil Ghosh
Rudranil Ghosh is an Indian actor who works primarily in Bengali films.
Education
Rudranil Ghosh completed his early education at Santragachi Kedarnath Institution, Howrah under West Bengal State Board. He graduated from the Narasinha Dutt ...
, actor and politician
*
Jatu Lahiri, politician
*
Jagannath Bhattacharya, politician and physician
*
Rabin Das, footballer
See also
*
List of schools in Howrah
References
{{Ashutosh Mukherjee
Boys' schools in India
High schools and secondary schools in West Bengal
Schools in Howrah district
Education in Howrah
Educational institutions established in 1925
1925 establishments in British India