The West Bengal government will introduce lessons on the life and contributions of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee in the school curriculum and drop the chapter on the Singur anti-land acquisition movement, School Education Minister Deepak Barman has said.
The revised syllabus, prepared by a committee, will place a greater emphasis on the state’s history and its prominent personalities, he told reporters on Wednesday. “Mookerjee will find a mention in every textbook, with a brief introduction to his life and contributions. The chapter on the Singur movement, which was part of the Class 8 syllabus, has been dropped. The committee has also recommended removing from Class 6 textbooks the chapter on the Kanyashree scheme, a flagship conditional cash transfer scheme of the previous TMC government. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has proposed holding the Madhyamik (Class 10) examinations from March 2 to 16, instead of the earlier schedule of February 15 to 25.
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.
