Education

West Bengal to Add Syama Prasad Mookerjee to Textbooks, Remove Singur Chapter

By PTI

The West Bengal government will add the life and contributions of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee to school textbooks and remove the chapter on the Singur anti‑land acquisition movement. School Education Minister Deepak Barman said the revised syllabus, prepared by a completed committee, will give greater emphasis to the state’s history and prominent personalities. Mookerjee will be mentioned in every textbook with a brief introduction. The chapter on the Singur movement, which was part of the earlier Class 8 syllabus, has been dropped. The committee also recommended removing the chapter on the Kanyashree scheme from Class 6 textbooks. Information and Communication Technology will become a structured subject for students in classes 5 to 8, and third‑language textbooks will be introduced for classes 7 and 8. Each textbook will begin with the complete ‘Vande Mataram’, and the quality of textbook paper has been improved. Discussions are underway on a pass‑fail system for schools, with a decision expected soon. The government is also considering rescheduling the 2027 Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations to avoid a clash with the Census exercise, which will require schoolteachers. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has proposed holding the Madhyamik (Class 10) examinations from March 2 to 16 instead of the earlier February 15 to 25 schedule. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education is expected to propose holding the fourth‑semester Higher Secondary examinations after March 16 instead of the tentative January 22–February 23 schedule. Barman said the proposals had been received and revised examination dates would be announced by next week.