Finally, the state school education department has managed to introduce English as a medium of instruction in at least 15 government and government-sponsored schools in the state. In addition to Bengali, English as a
medium of instruction has also been introduced in Classes 11 and Class 12 in science and commerce streams in these schools from the academic year 2010-11.
According to an official of the school education department, 10 government schools and five government-sponsored schools from Kolkata, Nadia, Jalpaiguri, North 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and North Dinajpur districts have got the approval to start the English medium sections.
In the city, Bethune Collegiate School, Alipore Multipurpose Government Girls’ School and Ballygunge Government School would be starting the English sections.
School education minister Partha De said, “We had to introduce English medium of instruction in the government and government-aided schools because despite good performances in the board examinations, our students fail to perform well in the competitive examinations.”