Satyapriya Roy (1907–1978) was a politician belonging to the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

. A prominent leader of the teacher's movement. He was the General Secretary of the All Bengal Teachers Association from 1953 to 1964. He was the education minister in the West Bengal Government during the second Mukherjee ministry.

History

Satyapriya Roy was born on 1 March 1907, in a well-to-do family at Singai in what is now Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. Graduated with English Honors from Anand Mohan College, Mymensingh. In 1927, he completed his master's degree in English from

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

. Also received excellency in Bachelor of Teaching examination (later renamed as

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

). Had an excellent academic career, he passed the All India Police Service Examination, but did not take any position in the police department. Instead, he became a teacher and, in fact, the founding headmaster of the Kalidhan Institution in South Calcutta. Roy was elected vice-president of ABTA at the Bishnupur conference in 1950, becoming its working president in 1952. In 1953 he was elected General Secretary of ABTA and Manoranjan Roy was elected president. He was the secretary of the organization until 1964, then he was elevated to the post of President, a position he held until he was appointed administrator of the

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 ...

in 1977. Roy was elected a member of the State Legislative Council as a teacher representative in 1954 and continued to be its member until 1969 when it was dissolved by the United Front government. In both the 1969 and 1971 elections, he won the Legislative Assembly as a CPIM candidate from Tollyganj constituency. He was the education minister in the second United Front government. He died on 11 February 1978.

Legacy

Roy was one of those who founded the All Bengal Teachers Training College, and was also its president for several years. The college was renamed as Satyapriya Roy College of Education in the year 2006 to acknowledge the contribution of Satyapriya Roy in the field of school education as well as the teacher's movement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Satyapriya 1907 births 1978 deaths West Bengal MLAs 1971–1972 Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal 20th-century Indian educators West Bengal MLAs 1969–1971