Organization of classes:
- Alliance française du Bengale (AFdB) is part of a network of 14 Alliance françaises across India. Admissions are reserved for residents of West Bengal, Orissa and North-East India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram). Students from other cities are advised to contact the Alliance française closest to them for admissions: https://afindia.org/
- AfdB works to provide its students with quality courses designed according to the criteria of CEFRL.
- The classes are held either at Park mansions (57A, Park Street, KOLKATA – 700016, INDIA), or in the various rooms attached to AfdB (Apeejay School Park Street, 115, Mother Teresa Sarani, Mullick Bazar, Park Street area, Kolkata, West Bengal 700016), or at home at an increased hourly rate.
- The service of the courses provides the students with all the information necessary for registration and the awarding of the official certificates (DELF, DALF, TCF, TEF).
- In case of holidays marked on the AfdB calendar, the said courses are postponed to a later date.
- For general courses (adults) the minimum number of students for A level is 10 and maximum 20, for B level minimum is 8 and maximum is 16, for C level minimum is 8 and maximum is 12. For Junior courses the minimum is 5 and the maximum is 15. For Prim courses, the minimum is 4 and the maximum is 10.
- AFdB reserves the right to make minor changes to the class timings (i.e. postoponing or preponing the classe by 30 min or 1 hour) till the starting of the course.
- AFdB reserves the right to change to modality of a course from on-site to comodal or from online to comodal.
- There are 5 minutes of pause for every hour of class.
- In case of absence of the teacher, AFdB will make sure that a replacement teacher will be made available. In case of unavailability of a replacement teacher, AFdB will postpone the class to a later date.
- Depending on the circumstances, trainees or any member of the Management may observe, conduct or participate in classes from time to time.
- The AFdB reserves the right to change the faculty at any point during the course due to unforeseen circumstances.
Registration & Payment of fees:
- Admissions are given on a first come first served basis and are subject to the availability of seats.
- Students must submit a copy of a valid identity card (Aadhaar, passport etc.) with proof of address at the time of admission.
- Payment for the classes must be made before the first day of the session, otherwise the management reserves the right to cancel the reserved seat in the group.
- A registration will be considered valid only if the form has been submitted. Any payment done without submitting the form will not be considered as a valid registration.
- The price of the courses is subject to changes. The price of the class at the time of the registration is the due price. It is mentioned in the media support managed by AfdB (flyers, website). The price of the course is inclusive of 18% of GST.
- Means of payment available are: payment by credit/debit cards or by cheque at the reception desk; online payment by bank transfer or digital payment.
- For general courses (adults), payment through installments is available.
- Fees are NOT NEGOTIABLE, NOT TRANSFERABLE, and NOT REFUNDABLE.
- Even if the student drops out of the course, all installments will be considered as due.
- Course fees for general courses include access to the e-learning platform Mon Alliance.
- Reservation of private classes is fixed. The purchase of a certain number of classes is done at registration. A specific scale regulates the price of the private classes which is subject to changes.
- The registration fee of Rs. 2490/- is required at the time of the first registration except when the registration is done during the closing of the early bird offer or in the context of special events (concours, salon, fair…). The registration fee does not apply to the private classes or to special classes (literature classes, translation workshop).
- The registration fee grants access to the physical library and the e-library, Culturethèque.
- Registration fee is applicable, irrespective of the levels under the following circumstances.
- If a student is enrolling with AFdB for the first time.
- If a student took a break of more than 1 year.
- The cost of the textbooks is not included in the course fee and must be purchased separately from AFdB or any other vendor. The price is revised according to the price rise imposed by the publisher.
- During the period of enrollment at AfdB and up to 6 months after his/her last class, the student benefits from the subsidized internal examination rate of DELF (Diplôme élémentaire de langue française) and DALF (Diplôme approfondi de langue française). The date to be considered is the date of the examination and not the date of registration to the examination.
Late registration of the session:
- A student may join a batch that has already started, at the condition that he/she has not missed more than 8 hours of classes for weekdays classes / 6 h hours of classes for weekend classes. He/she will be required to take up remedial classes in the form of one-to-one classes with one of the teachers in charge of the batch (at least 50 % of the number of hours missed). The internal rate for one-to-one classes will be applicable for the remedial classes.
- If he/she do not wish to take private remedial classes, he/she will need to write to the course director a self-declaration stating that he/she already has notions of French and AFdB will not be held responsible if he/she faces issues coping with the course.
Conditions regarding cancellation and refund:
- If the course does not open within 3 months of the date announced at the time of registration, AfdB may propose the following alternatives:
- a place in a different batch of the same level
- formation of a small group at a higher price
- The student will be entitled to ask for a refund only if:
- The class does not form even after 3 months after the date announced at the time of registration.
- He/She has moved out of the geographical area covered by AFdB.
- He/She can produce a valid medical reason. The final decision will be at the discretion of AFdB.
- Cancellation period for private classes is 24 hours. Within this period, AfdB reserves the right to deduct the price of the course of the prepaid package.
- If the course does not open within 3 months of the date announced at the time of registration, AfdB may propose the following alternatives:
Transfer of batch/session:
- In exceptional circumstances, the student may apply for a transfer from one batch to another batch of the same level.
- Such a transfer becomes effective only after:
- A written application has been submitted to the office, with specific mention of the batch the applicant wish to be tranfered to
- The request has been approved by the Course Director
- The transfer fees of Rs. 1500/- have been paid, and if applicable, the fee difference.
- In case of transfer, no extra amount will be refunded.
- The transfer is subject to availability of seats. AFdB reserves the right to refuse such transfer.
- Transfer of batch can only be done from one ongoing batch to another on-going batch/to a batch starting within one month of the date of approval of the transfer.
- Upon joining the new batch, the number of hours remaining, should be approximately the same as the number of hours remaining when the student left the previsous batch (that is when his application for transfer was approved).
- A student can transfer only one time.
- If the student is compelled to transfer a batch due to any shortcoming of AFdB, the transfer fee will not be applicable.
Teaching and pedagogy:
- AfdB courses are based on the latest learning methods used in didactics of foreign languages (or FLE – Français langue étrangère). Similarly, the textbooks chosen by the teachers are part of recent publications in the field of FLE teaching.
- The evaluation of the students is conducted during and at the end of each session for the 4 competences (written understanding, oral understanding, writing, speaking).
- Enrolment in the next level is subject to the satisfactory completion of the previous level or obtaintion of the required level in the Level test.
- The student must achieve an average of 50% in all the competences to be allowed to enroll in the next level and should not have less than 8/25 in any of the competence. If the student does not attain sufficient marks, remedial private classes can be offered. The student will have to take a level test before he/she can be allowed to register in the next level.
- Course certificate will be delivered to all students. Note that the course certificate will mention the percentage of attendance and the marks obtained in the internal evaluations.
- Attestations will be sent by email within one month of the end of the course.
- Parents who wish to be informed regarding the attendance and the academic progress of their children can obtain the information from the course department.
- In case of complaints, remarks or suggestions, the student can contact the course director.
Commitment of the student:
- Students agree to participate in the smooth functioning of the course and to respect the other students of the class irrespective of their religion, political affiliation, ethnicity, etc.
- Students are expected to attend classes regularly. No make-up class will be provided in case of absence. Private classes can be requested and will be charged accordingly.
- Students agree to arrive in class on time or apologize in advance to the teacher in case of delay/absence.
- Students are strongly encouraged to benefit from the ancillary offers of Alliance: workshops organized by the médiathèque, screenings, evening gatherings and cultural events.
- Students must maintain appropriate standards of hygiene for their surroundings and person, as well as a proper dress code.
- Students must respect the privacy of other students, staff members and teachers of AfdB.
Online classes:
- The tools for online classes are Zoom (for general group classes), Google Meet (for private and conversation classes), and the platform Mon Alliance.
- Students must ensure that they are well-equipped with a stable Internet connection, a laptop or tablet, a webcam, microphone and headphones. The use of a mobile phone is not recommended.
- AFdB shall not be held accountable for power shortage or loss of connectivity at the student’s end. Only classes canceled on account of technical issues at the teacher’s end shall be replaced.
- Students must join with their VIDEO ON. If for any reason the student needs to turn off his/her video, he must take permission from the teacher.
- Only registered students are allowed to attend the class. In case of children courses, a parent is allowed to sit by the child.
- No recording of online class is permitted.
Feedbacks:
- During the course, students will be requested to fill up a Google form to give their feedback about their learning experience at AFdB. Such feedback is indispensable and essential for improving the quality of AFdB’s services.
- Students can also submit their feedback via email to the course director: [email protected]
- Every feedback is kept confidential.
Internal regulations for the minors:
- The institute is responsible for the security of minors only during the course of the classes. Parents are responsible for the safety of the minors before and after the class.
- The minors who are 10 years of age or more can come to class and leave without being accompanied by an adult. Minors who are less than 10 years of age are accompanied by an adult who must identify himself/herself to the professor and/or the reception team at the beginning of the course.
- The institute does not provide supervision of minors within the premises of AfdB. If the adult responsible for picking up the minor is late, he/she must inform the course department or the reception.
- Parents must inform the institute of any health problem of their children, or of any medication which is necessary for their health and security.
- Parents must inform their children about the internal regulations of the institute.
Privacy policy & Right to image:
- The information collected is recorded in a computerized file to facilitate communication among the course services. They are intended for the communication department and the courses department. You can exercise your right to access the information concerning you and have them rectified by contacting the reception. AfdB guarantees the confidentiality of the information provided.
- Student authorizes the shooting and capturing of images in which he/she appears and its diffusion on any support (internet, book, periodical, brochure, catalog, etc.) within the framework of promotion of AfdB. The transferred rights include the right of reproduction of communication to the public without limitation of territory and duration, respecting the privacy of the individual. The student also agrees to have his/her photo associated with a text or a comment as long as it is not defamatory, abusive or devaluing.
As the present terms and conditions are an integral part of Alliance française du Bengale, by registering the student agrees to abide by these regulations.