Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal is set to introduce new rules for electing governing body members in state-run schools, aiming to reduce political influence in their functioning.

According to a blueprint prepared by the state school education department, all the governing body members will be inducted through elections and not selection, a system practised during the previous Trinamool Congress government.

The only exception will be for the post of the governing body secretary, who by default will be headmaster or headmistress of the school concerned.

At the same time, a state education department official said that over 70 per cent of the posts of the governing body members will be reserved for the guardians of the students studying in those schools.

“Again, the posts of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the committee will be reserved for the guardians. The remaining 30 per cent will be allocated to local academicians. There will be two locally elected public representatives in each governing body. But again, they will be inducted only if they are elected for the governing body members,” the department official said.

The term of the governing bodies will be more than two years. The elected members in the previous governing body will not be able to contest in the election for the next term. Members serving in a governing body will not be eligible to contest in the subsequent term, though this restriction will not apply to the secretary post.

The government also plans to fix the maximum number of governing body members — 15 for primary schools, 20 for secondary schools, and 25 for higher secondary schools.

Teacher associations have largely welcomed the proposal. Chandan Kumar Maiti, general secretary of the Advanced Society for Headmasters and Headmistresses, said the initiative aligns with the recommendations of the National Education Policy and expressed hope for early implementation.

Swapan Mondal, general secretary of the Bangiya Shikkhok and Shikkhakormi Samiti, said the proposed system is expected to reduce the politicisation of school administration.

–IANS

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