West Bengal schools to teach Syama Prasad Mookerjee, drop Singur from syllabus

The West Bengal government will add Syama Prasad Mookerjee to textbooks and remove the Singur movement chapter. The wider overhaul also introduces ICT lessons and may shift the 2027 board examinations.

In Short

• Structured ICT lessons will begin for students from classes 5 to 8
• Third-language textbooks are planned for students in classes 7 and 8
• Complete Vande Mataram will appear at the start of every textbook

The West Bengal government will include the life and contributions of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee in the school curriculum and remove the chapter on the Singur anti-land acquisition movement, School Education Minister Deepak Barman said on Wednesday, according to news agency Press Trust of India.

The revised syllabus will focus more on the history of West Bengal and its prominent personalities. A committee tasked with preparing the syllabus has completed its work, Barman said.

Mookerjee will be mentioned in every textbook through a brief introduction to his life and contributions. The chapter on the Singur movement, which was part of the earlier Class 8 syllabus, has been dropped. The committee has also recommended removing the chapter on the Kanyashree scheme from Class 6 textbooks.

ICT, THIRD LANGUAGE AND VANDE MATARAM

Information and Communication Technology will be introduced as a structured subject for students of classes 5 to 8, with a prescribed syllabus. Third-language textbooks will also be introduced for classes 7 and 8.

The complete 'Vande Mataram' will be printed at the beginning of each textbook. The quality of the paper used in textbooks has also been improved, Barman told PTI.

PASS-FAIL SYSTEM AND 2027 EXAM DATE CHANGES

Discussions are underway on the pass-fail system in schools, and a decision is expected shortly. The government is also considering rescheduling the 2027 Madhyamik and Higher Secondary examinations to prevent a clash with the Census exercise, for which schoolteachers will be deployed.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education has proposed holding the Madhyamik, or Class 10, examinations from March 2 to 16 instead of February 15 to 25.

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 schedule from January 22 to February 23.

Barman said the government had received the proposals and would announce the revised examination dates by next week. The planned changes cover the school syllabus, textbooks and examination schedules.

- Ends