Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Monday sought suggestions on Facebook to “achieve higher excellence in our education system”, giving rise to speculations that the Trinamul Congress was reaching out after the setback in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The Facebook post read: “To the students’ community, teachers and others who are associated with education. Please suggest any improvement to achieve higher excellence in our education. Thank you”
Chatterjee posted the announcement at 6 pm. In just four hours, it invited 82 comments, including several suggestions on the two-monthlong summer break announced by the education department just ahead of the polls. Traditionally, summer vacations are a month-long.
“First you withdraw the two months leave in the schools. This is setting a bad precedent among the students. Many students will quit the Bengali medium schools and join the English medium because of this,” read one of the comments.
“Everyone, listen, regarding School’s summer break issue, it has already drawn my attention. We will look into this matter immediately. Thank you for expressing (your views!”, Chatterjee responded.
A father requested that admission to colleges is freed of corruption and nepotism. Complaints of Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad supporters trying to influence college admissions last year had reached such alarming heights that chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Chatterjee had to pay surprise visits to campuses to take stock of the situation.
“People have long been nursing resentment against the government over malpractices in undergraduate admission. We can only hope that minister Chatterjee takes note of the suggestions,” a vice-chancellor said.
Asked about the responses to his post, minister Chatterjee told Metro: “I will go through all the suggestions. Those that pertain to school education would be sent to the wing concerned after review. Similarly those related to higher education would be forwarded to the wing concerned after detailed assessment. But the suggestions should not be politically motivated.
He, however, denied that the post had anything to do with the election results.
Source: The Telegraph
