Bengal's new edu policy mandates classes 5-8 students to study three languages

Students in class 5 to 8 in West Bengal schools will now have to learn three languages with Bengali as a priority language, the government announced on Tuesday.

Two languages will be taught at the primary level, of which one will be the mother tongue, an official said, a day after the cabinet approved the policy. West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu said a student will be free to choose his first language and the government will not interfere. Of the three languages, the third could be regional or a foreign language.

“The third language could be a local or regional language as well as a foreign language but priority must be given to Bengali, Sanskrit or Hindi. The main idea is to teach Bengali to youngsters in West Bengal,” the official said.

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Languages and ethnicity

Basu said the second and third languages will depend on the population pattern and ethnic profile of people living in a particular region. “In Kolkata, you can choose Bengali as the first language. In the Darjeeling hills, you can choose Nepali as the first language if you wish,” he said.

“In certain regions of the state, a student can choose Alchiki or Rajbanshi as the first language. You can also opt for Urdu as the first language,” he added. Making it clear that the government won’t impose Bengali as the second language, he said: “The second and third languages will entirely hinge on the pattern of population and its ethnicity driven by demographic factors.” The three-language policy will be introduced in phases.

The existing divisions in the education level will be maintained — four years each of primary and upper primary and two years of secondary and another two years of higher secondary education. A semester system will start from classes 8 to 12 and it will be introduced in phases over three years.

(With inputs from agencies)