The commencement of its chequered history began rather unconsciously.
After his graduation with honors in Physics, Prof. Samit Ray studied computers. He was working in a responsible position at a reputed information technology company, when few young graduates of his locality requested him to teach them mathematics for banking examinations. He agreed and started training them during weekends in his own study room. Within few months those students appeared for the examination conducted for the recruitment of officials in centralized banks. All of them were successful.
Professor Ray, thus found out the way to make the youths of Bengal successful in competitive examinations – being a systematic, well-planned training of all the subjects is the key to success. Thus RICE Education came into being on 1st July 1985, at Belgharia on the fringes of North Kolkata. Prof. Ray received inspiration from his father, Shri Sachis Kiran Ray, who himself was a teacher.
With students succeeding in cracking various tough government entrance examinations, the number of students increased, coming in for training from even far-away districts of Bengal.
Branches of RICE were opened in different parts of Bengal and within a short span of time; each and every district of Bengal began to have a RICE Centre. The first City Office of RICE was established in Sealdah, Kolkata. Professor Ray’s workload multiplied. He began travelling from one district to another, taking overnight trains and training students in every district. The vision of an entrepreneur, who dreamed and single-handedly worked towards, his dream, was getting fructified.
RICE as a homegrown education training brand became a household name. Many qualified, trained and experienced teachers too joined hands with RICE. In the mean-time the foundation stone of the permanent building of Head Office beside the B.T Road near Rathtala, Belgharia, was laid by the then Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal Mr. A. R Kidwai. The new building of Head Office, ‘Dishari Bhawan’ was inaugurated on 26th January 2001. The late 80’s also witnessed the entry of computers in Indian lives. It was an expensive proposition during those times, to be trained in computers. After establishing RICE, Prof. Ray worked towards making computer education accessible to the masses so that they could reap the benefits created by the boom in the IT industry. The Indian Institute of Computer Science was initially established and trained a few thousand students. It was a time when the particular government of the day, opposed computerization. Professor Ray received many threats. But that did not deter him. He returned one night to find the institute ransacked, and about 40 computers burnt down to ashes. It could have stopped any other person. But Professor Ray fought on. He knew that he had the support of willing students and their parents.
So, in 1992, he partnered with CMC (Computer Maintenance Corporation), a Government of India Enterprise at that time, to provide Software, Hardware and Networking courses. This centre was adjudged as the best in the whole of Eastern India in 2000. He did not stop at this. He started his own venture, RICE Infotech Education, in 2001, to provide training in the fields of IT, ITES, Multimedia, Hardware and Networking. This division was affiliated to the West Bengal State Council for Technical Education for a few of its courses. Many students, who have passed out from this institute, are now successfully placed in reputed IT companies in India and abroad.
Prof. Ray found out that North Kolkata and its adjoining areas lacked a quality school. Thus, in 2004, he established the Adamas International School. The School is a living model of every value that Professor Samit Ray has followed throughout his life. It is a co-educational, and imparts education right from pre-primary level to senior secondary level.
The School strives for a continuous development to achieve excellence in all that is done with a focus on high academic attainment along with inculcating habits of good citizenship and integrity and honesty in thought, speech and action. Adamas International School shapes young minds and develops their skills to face the challenges of modern society and to provide a comprehensive education which helps form creative, logical, analytical and innovative minds. The School gives equal emphasis to co-curricular activities with sports infrastructure that can be the envy of anybody. No wonder, a number of students have exceled in national level competitions. Along with academic excellence, the School lays a strong emphasis on personality development, teaching life-skills and employs a number of innovative ways to inculcate strong values, building responsible individuals and future-ready global citizens. Adamas International School takes special care to prepare students for all-India competitive exams, along with preparing them for their board exams. No wonder, the School has won the prestigious International School Awards awarded by the British Council in recognition of the International projects the School has undertaken.
When Adamas Knowledge City at Barasat was established, it again portrayed the lifelong values and ethics of its Founder-Chancellor, Professor Samit Ray. The Knowledge City has a truly global outlook but is rooted in the Indian ethos.
Adamas University, currently in its 6th year, Currently, houses 3500+ current students and more than 1500 resident students and faculties. The University has been established with the vision of providing quality education to students to help them become professionally competent as well as academically knowledgeable under the 9 Schools of Studies. There are 12 separate buildings, each dedicated to a particular field of study. Professor Ray emulated this concept from Shantiniketann that has separate buildings for each form of study.
Within Adamas Knowledge City, lies the Adamas World School. It was established in 2011 with the spirit of enlightenment through a process of graded learning from a child to a responsible, knowledgeable and wise citizen. Adamas aims at transforming a child into a complete human being. Inspired by the environment and an inclusive tradition, Adamas World School aims to develop visionary, articulate and ethical individuals equipped to achieve their full potential in leadership and in life. Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities form a part of the everyday lives of the students here, fostering their all-round development. The School strives for excellence in teaching and learning, offering an exceptional education experience.
Professor Samit Ray, the visionary and founder of RICE Education is a unique blend of academics and administration. RICE Group is the story of his inspirational journey to train the young minds of Bengal and since then has evolved into a national player, providing global exposure in the field of education right from the primary level to higher studies.
