Over 1k schools get ₹23.9cr state grants for lab upgrade
Times of India | 5 August 2024
Kolkata: The state school education department has released laboratory grants for 1,084 HS schools across Bengal to upgrade lab infrastructure for subjects like physics, chemistry, biology and geography.
The administrative approval and financial sanction towards the laboratory grants for these schools were permitted after thorough mapping was done by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education a month ago.A total of 1,084 schools have been identified to receive this fund either to set up or upgrade their laboratories.
WBCHSE president Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said, “Laboratories are a major part of the new structure of higher secondary education. The syllabus for each subject has been restructured, including lab topics. This will be really beneficial for the schools as well as for the general purpose of education.” A total of Rs 23.9 crore has been approved for this.
Sources said following a discussion between the education department and the HS Council, a survey was conducted where it was found that around 2,000 schools out of 7,500 across Bengal required funds for renovation. A report was submitted to the department a few days ago, based on which the department identified these schools to disburse funds to renovate physics, chemistry, biology and geography laboratories based on their conditions.
Baranagar Rajkumari School headmistress Payel Dey said, “We need to buy instruments for our science subjects, so this grant will be of great help. We are the second oldest girls’ school and we have a sizable number of students at the HS level.”
There are many schools in South 24 Parganas that were badly hit during Amphan and can now renovate laboratories.