Second, third languages will depend on population pattern of area, says Bengal education minister Bratya Basu

The minister said a student is free to choose his first language and the state government will not interfere in it

Bratya Basu

PTI, Calcutta, 08.08.23 : West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Tuesday said a student is free to choose his first language and the state government will not interfere in it.

Talking to reporters, Basu said the second and third languages will depend on the population pattern and ethnic profile of people living in a particular region.

"A student is free to choose the first language. In Kolkata, you can choose Bengali as the first language. In the Darjeeling hills, you can choose Nepali as the first language if you wish," he said.

"In certain regions of the state, a student can choose Alchiki or Rajbanshi as the first language. You can also opt for Urdu as the first language," he added.

Asserting that the government does not wish to impose Bengali as the second language, he said, "The second and third languages will entirely hinge on the pattern of population and its ethnicity driven by demographic factors." He said the state education policy recommendations will be implemented by the board and council in schools and by the university in colleges.

The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education conducts the class 10 finals and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary education holds the class 12 final exams.

"We will put the entire policy recommendations on the official website soon," he added.

The West Bengal government's new education policy mandates that students will have to learn three languages in classes 5-8, with Bengali as a priority language, an official said on Tuesday.

Two languages will be taught at the primary level - of which one will be the mother tongue, the official elaborating on the policy cleared on Monday by the state cabinet said.

The official said students of classes 5 to 8 would have to take three languages out of which the third one could be regional one or a foreign language.

"The third language could be a local or regional language as well as a foreign language, but priority can be given to Bengali, Sanskrit or Hindi. The main idea is to teach Bengali to youngsters in West Bengal," the official added.

The three language formula will be applicable for upper primary level, depending on the availability of infrastructure and resources. In this set up, students will learn their first language, English and a third language that may be native to India or a foreign language. 

Priority should be given to Bangla, Hindi or Sanskrit, as third languages, in case they are not the medium of instruction," the draft State Education Policy, a copy of which is available with PTI, said. 

The draft policy, made by an "empowered committee specific to the state of West Bengal", accepted the recommendation which suggested retaining the existing 4+4+2+2 structure and called for making Bengali as a subject for students having language combinations other than Bengali from class 1 and formulate a suitable syllabus accordingly which may continue till the 12th level. 

The recommendations also advocated introducing a semester system in classes 11 and 12 to "ease the transition from school to university." 

The minister said the state education policy recommendations will be implemented by the board and council in schools and by the university in colleges. The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education conducts the class 10 finals and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary education holds the class 12 final exams. About the proposed education commission to be set up on the lines of the health commission with a retired judge as its head,

Basu said: "Many private schools have mushroomed in recent times in the state. We don't want to crush them but want to have some say over their functioning without interfering in their functional autonomy." 

The minister said: "Many such schools were seen fixing their fees at will and though the state government could step in at times, the commission will make it more streamlined." 

The minister said a student is free to choose his first language and the state government will not interfere in it.

"The third language could be a local or regional language as well as a foreign language, but priority can be given to Bengali, Sanskrit or Hindi. The main idea is to teach Bengali to youngsters in West Bengal," the official added.

"We have not adopted the 5+3+3+4 formula of NEP and decided to retain the 4+4+2+2 system. We have only adopted the 4+1formula in higher education instead of the3+2 formula where a student will undertake a four-year honours course nd a one-year post-graduate course instead of the earlier three-year honours and two-year post graduation," Basu had earlier said. 

As per the 5+3+3+4 formula, a student will have to spend five years in strengthening foundation, three years in reparatory stage, three years in the middle stage and rest four years in the secondary stage. 

The West Bengal cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to make Bengali mandatory as a second language in private English medium schools.