Siliguri, March 12 -- In a bid to attract more students to government schools, several government primary schools in Siliguri are set to introduce English as the medium of education. Sources said that a number of schools under the Siliguri Educational District have been selected for the project. The Siliguri Primary School Council has already prepared a list of schools and sent it to Bikash Bhavan for approval.
According to the council, the move is expected to encourage more parents to enrol their children in government primary schools.
"We have identified some schools that have the necessary facilities to run an English medium section. We have already sent the proposal, but have not yet received approval. We will send the letter again and hope to receive permission soon so that we can commence English medium classes," said Dilip Roy, Chairman of the Siliguri Primary School Council.
In recent years, parents have increasingly shown interest in English medium education. As a result, the number of students in Bengali medium primary schools has declined. Due to a shortage of students, several schools have even been forced to shut down. In view of this situation, the council has decided to introduce English medium sections in selected government primary schools.
There are a total of 390 primary schools under the Siliguri Educational District, with around 38,000 students currently enrolled.
According to sources, 35 schools have initially been selected for the English medium programme. These schools have been distributed across seven circles, with five schools chosen from each circle. Teachers with an English medium background will be assigned to conduct classes in the new sections. The council has also held preliminary meetings with the selected schools regarding the implementation of the plan.
Kanchan Das, a teacher at Netaji Boys' Primary School, welcomed the initiative.
"We have teachers and the necessary facilities to run an English medium section. It will be helpful for the students. Many parents have already requested such a system in our school," he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.