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West Bengal: A historic announcement has been made by the state’s education policy framework when the Chief Minister of the state, Suvendu Adhikari, declared that West Bengal has embraced both NEP 2020 and the central PM-SHRI Scheme. The Chief Minister has declared this after a discussion with central and state education policymakers in Kolkata. According to him, the acceptance of these policies will open doors for crucial and long-deferred educational funds from the center which will be immediately available for the current fiscal year.
Criticising the previous government for not accepting this, he said that this will be a huge step towards modernization, transparency, and infrastructural growth for schools in West Bengal. Through this move, there will be scope for modern classrooms, digital labs, and modern curricula which will make sure that students can compete globally with their peers. The removal of political hurdles will help in ensuring that funds are quickly used to ensure the availability of basic facilities, updated textbooks, and pedagogy training. Overall, this will ensure that West Bengal is no more an isolated state and has a standardised education model.
Major Reforms Introduced Under the New Plan
The state government has formulated a comprehensive plan of reform measures which have been designed for 81,000 schools:
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Infrastructure Development: Phased introduction of solar panels, electric fans in all classes, and provision of safe drinking water devoid of arsenic in vulnerable districts such as Bankura, Birbhum, Purulia, and Jhargram.
Mid-Day Meals (PM POSHAN): Shift to clean cooking through gas in all locations. Moreover, there would be a huge increment in the cooking expenditure per head on the primary level, from ₹6.78 to ₹10, which is to be implemented from August 1.
Hygiene Measures: Installation of sanitary pad dispensers and advanced water purifiers in all girls' schools.
Merit-Based Appointment of Teachers: In order to curb corruption, a Chief Secretary rank officer has been appointed to manage the process of recruiting teachers according to the actual roster of SC, ST, and OBC reservations. The state would now attempt to withdraw the pending OBC reservation petition in the Supreme Court in order to facilitate the appointment of 12,000 teachers.
