Published – June 25, 2025 08:37 pm IST – Kolkata The usually low-profile colleges of West Bengal, particularly those located in Kolkata, have this year turned to promotional videos to present their credentials as the centralised portal for undergraduate admissions opens. “The videos are primarily to showcase the uniqueness of institutions, considering that students now have a much wider choice, both inside and outside the State. Many institutions are coming up with high-quality infrastructure, but State-run colleges do not come across as flashy. Their academic infrastructure and faculty profiles are unmatched, and these need to be aired in this era of publicity,” Saurabh Chakraborti, principal of Bidhannagar College, told The Hindu. In May last year, the State Government had instructed colleges to prepare two-minute videos to attract students, offering a turnaround time of only two days ahead of the launch of the centralised admission portal. Colleges, unfamiliar with promotional exercises, managed to compile whatever content they could within the deadline. However, this year, despite the absence of a formal directive, many institutions have independently opted to produce professionally made videos. “It’s the age of promotion and marketing, and education sector is not an exception. Our promotional videos (of the college and of departments) cover outputs of our innovative initiatives, hands-on trainings, free internships and placement drives for students from all subjects and backgrounds. Our future students are sensitised towards outcome-based learning and optimisation of available resources with other MoU colleges,” said Jaydeep Sarangi, principal of New Alipore College, Kolkata. Dr. Sarangi added, “The centralised admission system in West Bengal is a trendsetter for the country and beyond. Its user-friendliness is unique and exhaustive.
In such a scenario, the videos are faces of an institution, reel and real.” Ayantika Ghosh, principal of Naba Ballygunge Mahavidyalaya, acknowledged challenges in producing such content. “Sometimes, for some colleges, especially those without a Department of Journalism and Mass Communication/Media Studies and consequent lack of all paraphernalia related to video-creations, launching such promotional videos taking professional help becomes problematic. But nevertheless it is a praiseworthy initiative to showcase the colleges’ efforts and achievements to aspiring students,” she said. Dr. Ghosh further noted that their forthcoming video would highlight features distinguishing the college from others. “It will focus, among many things, on our automated digital library with spacious reading room facilities, regular campus drive programmes giving placements in reputed companies, ICT equipped auditorium and virtual room at our campus, and green corners and vertical gardening.” Mousumi Chakravarti, officer-in-charge at Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Government College in Newtown, said their video “tells aspiring students about the facilities the college provides and contains information regarding the subjects that the college offers, number of seats, faculty strength and also information about the facilities provided such as library, laboratory, gymnasium, playground, scholarships.” Published – June 25, 2025 08:37 pm IST West Bengal / universities and colleges Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
Source: Education News Today | The Hindu