West Bengal govt to make efforts to revive closed state-run schools

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government will take stock of state-run schools that have closed down and arrive at a mechanism to revive them, state Education Minister Bratya Basu said in the Assembly on Tuesday.

Certain guidelines will be framed based on the teacher-student ratio of those schools before their closure and the population density of the areas where they are located, the minister said while replying to a question of BJP MLA Biswanath Karak.

Later, talking to reporters in his chamber at the assembly building, Basu said that the school education department will ask the authorities in every district to count the number of schools that have ceased to function due to a lack of students.

"Once the total number is received, we will apprise Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the government will take a decision about the ways to revive these institutes," he said.

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He told PTI there is a tendency among parents to enrol their children in English medium schools that have mushroomed in several areas. "Unless we change this mindset, it will be a tough battle for the survival of Bengali medium schools,” Basu said.