WB Assembly passes Rs 35,643-cr budgetary demand for school

The West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed a budgetary demand of Rs 35,643 crore for expenditure towards school and higher education departments.

Placing the demands for the departments, Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said the state at present has 4.33 lakh teachers in different formats.

He said that 2,650 smart classes will be set up in government-run and aided schools, while 2,000 teachers will be appointed for the purpose.

The minister said 189 junior high schools have been converted to high schools in West Bengal in 2019-2020.

"We are monitoring the affordability of fees and quality of education in all institutions - both private and state-run," Chatterjee said.

The minister said the student-teacher ratio has increased in state-run and aided educational institutions in both secondary and higher secondary schools.

Chatterjee also said a proposal by a member to include Jawaharlal Nehru's "Letters from a Father to His Daughter" and Bhagat Singh's "Why I am an Atheist" in the school curriculum will be sent to the syllabus committee for consideration.