12 Kolkata: West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education on Tuesday held a day-long workshop on English for XI-XII students to improve their proficiency in the language.
The workshop was part of the council's pilot project, aimed at honing the verbal and written skills in English among students who have English as a second language. Council secretary Priyadarshini Mullick said three sessions were held. Every session was attended by five students from 20 schools each, Mullick said.
"For writing answers in exams or creating online content, the accurate use of English vocabulary and expressions remains crucial. Students who can pick up essential language abilities will be better positioned to handle professional and academic challenges," said HS council president Chiranjib Bhattacharjee.
The headmaster of a state-run school and an instructor at the workshop, Sandip Banerjee, said, "We will focus on building their confidence and developing their skills for effective written expressions.
The incompetence in English among many state school students could be traced back to 1982, when the then Left Front govt in Bengal abolished English as a subject at the primary level. After many controversies and demands from various quarters, it was reintroduced in Class II in 1999. In 2002, it was reintroduced from Class I. General secretary of All India Save Education Committee Tarun Naskar said, "We fought for reintroduction of English at the primary level. Hands-on workshops are good, but it is necessary to strengthen the base at a lower level."
Educationist Pabitra Sarkar said, "The council's workshop is a good move, but this should be a continuous process, covering all students in the city as well as remote areas. But students should also be taught Bengali. If students face trouble reading, writing or communicating in English, the actual reason should be first identified."
School heads sought such sessions from primary level. Santoshpur Rishi Aurobindo Balika Vidyapith, which has communicative English classes, sent five students to the session. Mitra Institution (Bhowanipore) headmaster Raja Dey said, "The five of our Class XI students were very happy on learning ‘free writing'."