Madhyamik Exam: Big Crisis Before Madhyamik! Education Minister Vociferous About Commission’s ‘Dictatorship’, Students in Trouble?
Madhyamik Exam: The state’s biggest board examination, the Madhyamik Exam, is just around the corner. While lakhs of students are busy with their final preparations for the first major exam of their lives, a new complication has arisen in the state’s education system. Schools across the state are facing an acute shortage of teachers right at this crucial juncture. The root cause of this crisis is the Summary Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR) work. Administrative conflict has erupted over the deployment of teachers as Booth Level Officers (BLO) by the Election Commission, and State Education Minister Bratya Basu has now openly criticized the move.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) has already expressed deep concern regarding this matter. According to the Board, if a large number of teachers are kept busy with election duties right before the exams, academic activities and the management of the examination process could be severely hampered. The Board has already written to the Election Commission requesting a reconsideration of the situation. Extending full support to the Board’s stance, Education Minister Bratya Basu has launched a scathing attack on the Commission.
Minister’s Anger and the Commission’s Role
Education Minister Bratya Basu has termed the Election Commission’s decision as illogical and unilateral. He stated clearly that the decision was taken keeping the Education Department completely in the dark. According to him, teachers were summoned for election duty without any discussion with the state government, which goes against the federal structure.
Key points highlighted in the Minister’s statement include:
- Lack of Coordination: Teachers have been assigned BLO or SIR duties without any prior intimation to the Education Department or the Board.
- Impact on Exams: With the Madhyamik exam approaching, removing teachers from schools at this time will make it nearly impossible to prepare exam centers and conduct the examination smoothly.
- Harsh Criticism: The Minister views this behavior of the Commission as a tendency to bypass the state government. He has directly referred to it as a reflection of a “dictatorial” (Tanashahi) mindset.
In this situation, headmasters of schools are deeply worried. With the pressure of syllabus revision and solving test papers on one hand, and the absence of teachers on the other, an unstable situation has developed in the state’s education sector right before the Madhyamik exams. The education fraternity is now waiting to see what the Commission’s next step will be and if the Education Department’s objection leads to any resolution.
