The BJP government in West Bengal has decided to bar teaching and non-teaching staff of government-run and government-aided schools from engaging in political activities, School Education Minister Deepak Barman said on Thursday.The decision, taken at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, brings West Bengal in line with several other states that have similar restrictions. The government is also considering measures to make primary school teachers accountable for students' learning outcomes, according to news agency Press Trust of India."From now on, teaching and non-teaching staff of government-run and government-aided schools will come under the rule prohibiting association with political activities.
This was already in practice in states other than West Bengal," Barman told reporters.Asked whether the BJP could have a teachers' cell in the state, he said, "We will discuss the issue." Barman was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting at the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education building in Kolkata to discuss administrative, infrastructural and academic issues. The meeting was attended by the chairpersons of primary education councils from 21 districts and the heads of the state's primary and secondary education boards and the higher secondary education council.
Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay was also present.Barman told PTI that the government was considering introducing a teacher accountability system in primary schools from the next academic year. Under the proposed system, teachers' performance could be linked to annual increments and promotions.
Teachers would have to account for the learning outcomes of students assigned to them. If 15 out of 20 students failed to acquire basic reading skills or showed inadequate academic progress, the teacher concerned would have to explain the reasons, Barman said."We will ask the teacher why their salary should be increased the following year.
They will have to provide an explanation," he said, adding that the government would examine cases in which students failed to improve.The government is also considering a system under which one teacher would teach all subjects to a primary-level class instead of separate teachers being appointed for Bengali, English, geography and mathematics. It is also examining the reintroduction of the pass-fail system in schools, which could change the state's approach to assessing students' academic performance.Barman said the planned appointment of at least 13,000 primary school teachers in the near future would reduce the student-teacher ratio to about one teacher for every 20 students.
The government would also work to improve the situation at the secondary level.The measures under consideration include restrictions on political activity by school staff, greater teacher accountability, changes to primary-level teaching and student assessment, and the recruitment of more teachers.- Ends