West Bengal is working towards full implementation of the NEP 2020 and will soon sign a pact with the NCERT for teacher support, state School Education Minister Dipak Barman said on Monday.
Speaking at a state-level workshop attended by district inspectors of schools and other education department officials from across the state at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town, Barman said the state was "somewhat behind" in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, and efforts were underway to complete the process expeditiously.
He said the state was also preparing to sign an MoU with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to facilitate orientation programmes for teachers and provide technical and academic guidance for implementing the new education framework.
"Through the MoU, NCERT will guide us. They will help us address the difficulties in implementation, from technical issues to taking the framework down to the school level," the minister said.
{{/usCountry}}"Through the MoU, NCERT will guide us. They will help us address the difficulties in implementation, from technical issues to taking the framework down to the school level," the minister said.
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Barman said the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) would guide the preparation of textbooks and curriculum, including what students would be taught, how they would be taught and how their learning would be assessed.
"The textbooks that will be prepared under the new framework will be implemented from the 2028 academic year. We will receive cooperation from NCERT for this," he said.
He added that the state syllabus committee would take guidance from the NCF while preparing the syllabus.
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The minister also said a large number of private schools in the state had failed to upload student-related information on the UDISE portal, creating an inaccurate picture of school enrolment in the state.
"UDISE is the central government's database through which schools are required to provide details such as the number of students and teachers and the condition of school infrastructure," he underscored.
"Some private schools have not uploaded their student numbers. As a result, the UDISE portal is showing that a large number of schools have no students but have teachers," Barman said.
He clarified that the ground reality was different and that these schools did have students, but data had not been uploaded due to technical or other reasons.
"We want them to upload their complete information on the UDISE portal. Then the picture of West Bengal will look much better," he said.
"The problem is mainly with private schools," Barman added.
Asked about the composition of college governing bodies and the possible role of MLAs, MPs and ministers, Barman said the state would follow its own policies and procedures.
"We do not want to step into someone else's shoes. We have our own system, our own policies and traditions, and things will be done accordingly. You will understand in the coming days how our colleges are functioning," he said.