Cooch Behar:
Had Maharani Sunity Devi lived now, she would have been happy.
Four girls of Sunity Academy, set up by her husband and Cooch Behar king Nripendra Narayan in 1881, have made it to the state-wide list of top 10 Madhyamik examinees this year.
A few among the Indian woman to be awarded a CIE (Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire) by the British, Sunity was the daughter of Brahma Samaj reformist Keshab Chandra Sen.
“Her initiatives to impart education to girls and women are well known in Cooch Behar. Not only that Sunity Academy was set up in her name (it was initially Suniti College), but she was also instrumental in setting up the Maharani Girls’ High School in Delhi. During her days as the queen of Cooch Behar, she had helped girls ensure that they get education. She would have been definitely happy to see girls of her school performing so well,” said Shaukat Ali, a senior academician based in Cooch Behar.
In the Madhyamik this year, Sanjibani Debnath of the school has topped in the state with 689, followed by Mayurakhi Sarkar (687, third in the state), Ankita Das (685, fifth in the state) and Aitihya Saha (681, ninth in the state).
“It is great day for us. Back in 2013, a student from our school had topped in the state in Madhyamik. In our school, there is a close relation among teachers and students. Though many take private tuitions but all the students are always dependant on the school to improve their performances,” said Manideepa Nandi Biswas, the proud headmistress.
Pankaj Kumar Debnath, the father of Sanjibani and a college principal, has appreciated the school.
“My daughter has been studying here since Class III and I have always found that each teacher is caring and giving individual attention to students. They keep on encouraging students and do not relent unless a student understands a subject,” said Debnath.
Along with the performance of the girls of Sunity Academy, Cooch Behar residents have another reason to cheer. In the Madhyamik this year, the district has come up with nine students in total – the highest in any district of Bengal – who have secured positions in the top 10 slot.
They are Sumit Bagchi of Dinhata High School (684, sixth in state), Mahasweta Home Roy of Manindra Nath High School (683, seventh), Debosmith Roy of Rambhola High School (682, eighth), Suman Saha (680, tenth) and Baidurjya Biswas (680, tenth), both of Mathabhanga High School.
“All these students have made our district proud. We will felicitate them for their success,” said NB development minister Rabindranath Ghosh, who also hails from Cooch Behar.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> West Bengal / by Main Uddin Chisti / June 07th, 2018