Kidderpore College is situated in the south west corner of Kolkata-Kidderpore. It was a humble beginning, but a dream come true for our founder Jitendra Nath Bandyopadhyay. It was a bold step and a very desirable one as this locality did not have a college although there were students who were keen on higher education. The college has gone on determined in its goal of providing quality education to the students of the locality. Demographically this area is populated with people who are economically weaker and first-generation learners. Their educational background is very poor due to poverty and other socio-economic conditions of the area. Located close to a dock area, the college gets students hailing from Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. This area also has many Urdu-speaking people. The college was established with the aim to provide quality education to the local community for the long-term upliftment of the area.
Our college reflects the pluralist nature of our country with students nurturing their own language and religion. At the same time, they come into contact with students speaking different languages and practicing different religious faiths. This paves the way for interaction and exchange, exposure to different cultures, and makes way for bonding and friendship, which is so very essential in this multicultural country to proceed on the path of progress and development. Since they are the citizens of India, this training goes a long way in inculcating in them the values of patience and tolerance. It teaches them that differences lead to diversity, but this does not necessarily mean division and disintegration. Kidderpore College provides the ambience where the students can learn the values of inclusion and cooperation, sympathy and understanding without which our country would not be able to battle the multitude of problems that appear in its path.
Most of our students come from very humble backgrounds, and since many of them are from the locality, they do not have to travel far and this saves them both money and time. Their resources are limited and the nearness of the college enables them to avail of higher education without much difficulty. The location of the college provides the students with the opportunity to serve the needy and the destitute through our NCC, NSS and various other community-oriented social service schemes. We are surrounded by people who live in their humble dwellings battling life with their meager income. The NSS organizes blood donation camps and eye check-up camps and the main beneficiaries are those people who stay in the vicinity. These people are poor and such activities on the part of the college go a long way in helping them, and also in building a bridge between our neighbours and the college. The students learn the value of community service and the fact that education not only means earning degrees but extending a helping hand to the helpless and the weak.
Languages connect people and hence students of many languages get to know not only the language they study but also the languages being studied by the others. The distinctiveness of our college lies in the fact that it offers courses in 5 languages. These are English, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Persian. India is a multilingual country. Our college gives ample scope to the students to choose wisely and to study the language of their choice. It teaches them to celebrate unity in an ambience of diversity. Thus, our college celebrates Saraswati Puja, Iftar, Rabindra Smaran, Hindi Diwas, International Mother Language Day – celebrations which transcend all barriers created by language, religion and culture. Students participate in all these events irrespective of their social, cultural and religious identities.
The teachers in this college understand their students well and give their best to make lessons comprehensible for them. Many students in this college belong to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class category. Kidderpore College is committed to imparting the best possible academic experience to them so that they rise above socio-economic barriers and shine in their chosen careers.