New English mediums must conform to requisite infrastructure:

West Bengal Education minister Partha Chatterjee Tuesday said the government will ensure that new English medium schools have the requisite infrastructure before giving no objection certificate (NOC) to the institute.

Chatterjee, after attending a review meeting of School Education department here, said before giving the NOC to an application for any new private English medium school, the state government will ensure that the concerned institute have the requisite infrastructure.

"We will see if there is adequate building and accommodation, if there will be appropriate number of teachers. Whether the new institute will go by all the prescribed norms laid down by the government," the minister told reporters.

Chatterjee was asked to comment on a large number of English medium schools coming up in different localities in recent years.

To a question, the minister said his government will turn the entire process of monthly salary requisition of teachers online and gradually do away with the manual process.

"We are planning to fully shift to this system, we have allotted funds for the same. And when we will achieve it 100 per cent, the manual process will be totally done away with," he said.

The Education minister said the state government was committed to give pension benefits to every teacher on time.

"If we have to pay the salary of those working by the first week of every month, why there should be different yardstick for those who bid adieu to their service life?", Chatterjee wondered.

The minister said the government will build a girls' hostel at Belpahari in West Midnapore district, falling under the 'jangalmahal' belt.

To a question about the Calcutta High Court having discharged the West Bengal School Service Commission (SSC) from contempt proceedings in connection with the publication of a merit list of candidates to recruit teachers for 12,905 vacancies, Chatterjee said "we have full confidence in the judiciary."