West Bengal: Special school inspections to observe Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's birth anniversary

The West Bengal School Education Department has directed first-level education officials to hold a special inspection of schools across the state from September 11 to 18, 2026. The inspection is being held to commemorate the 206th birth anniversary of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.

In an official notification, the commissioner of school education , West Bengal, asked the district inspectors of schools (primary and secondary education) in all districts and school inspecting officers, stationed at the directorate of school education, to plan and execute the special inspection during this week.

The education department has also forwarded the notification copy to the State Project Director (SPD), Paschim Banga Samagra Shiksha Mission (PBSSM), requesting to ask the direct education officers, Samagra Shiksha Mission (SSM), to provide all the logistics support to school inspectors for executing the inspections.

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WB govt orders closure of 252 madrassas

The order comes a day after the West Bengal government ordered the closure of 252 madrassas and sent show-cause notices to around 100 others.

The closure of madrassas follows a state-wide survey, which revealed that such institutions lacked requisite approvals and basic infrastructure.

Notably, on September 4, Suvendu Adhikari , chief minister of West Bengal, announced that the government has set a target of establishing at least 1,000 schools run by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) education wing Vidya Bharati across the state within a year.

In addition, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, the higher education minister, recently said that education would not be allowed to become a commodity or a business and warned that institutions found violating norms would face strict action.

The higher education department conducted inspections in July and August at 602 BEd colleges to assess their infrastructure and academic activities, PTI reported.