After Mamata Banerjee’s approval, Bengali to be taught as second language in English-medium schools

A proposal to require Bengali as a second language at private English-medium schools was accepted by the West Bengal cabinet on Monday, according to a top official.

He added that the cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, approved the creation of an education commission to investigate concerns about private schools.

‘Though there are options to study Bengali as a second language, most students prefer Hindi or other languages. As a result, students are not learning Bengali properly. Today, the state cabinet decided to change it, and make Bengali compulsory second language in all private English medium schools in the state,’ the official told PTI.

According to him, the Education Commission will be established similarly to the Health Commission, with a retired judge serving as its chairman.

‘During the pandemic, we received several complaints about private schools increasing tuition fees excessively. Also, there were complaints regarding syllabus and the way that exams were conducted. This commission will look into all these issues,’ the official said.

Bangla Pokkho thanked the chief minister and Education Minister Bratya Basu on their decision to make Bengali a second language requirement.

The organisation that works to promote the Bengali language’s organising secretary, Kausik Maiti, stated that ‘People of Bengal have been waiting for this decision for a long time.’

The state cabinet also approved the creation of a committee that will provide a report to the government on the establishment of seven new districts in the state over the next three months.

According to the official, the existing Nadia, Birbhum, Malda, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Purba, and Paschim Medinipur districts will be separated into these seven new districts.

The chief secretary, HK Dwivedi, senior ministers Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, and Moloy Ghatak, as well as secretaries from other departments, will be members of this committee, he said.

In addition, Banerjee set a 15-day deadline for carrying out all decisions made by the state government, including those by the cabinet, at the meeting.

The officer reported that she had requested that officers provide a report on the implementation to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).