WB to Revise School Curriculum: Syama Prasad Mookerjee to be Included
West Bengal announces major school curriculum overhaul for 2027, including lessons on Syama Prasad Mookerjee and reduced Mughal history content.
The West Bengal government has announced a major overhaul of the state's school curriculum, a move set to transform the educational landscape starting from the 2027 academic session. This significant revision will introduce new historical perspectives while streamlining existing content to modernize the learning experience for students across the state.
Focus on Syama Prasad Mookerjee's Legacy
A defining feature of this curriculum reform is the formal inclusion of the life and contributions of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Under the new guidelines, lessons documenting his legacy will be placed at the very beginning of textbooks for all classes. This decision follows a directive from the Higher Education Department and aligns with the upcoming commemorations of Mookerjee's 125th birth anniversary, as noted by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The Higher Education Minister, Jagannath Chattopadhyay, has confirmed that Mookerjee's legacy will be appropriately commemorated across both school and university-level curricula to ensure students understand his historical importance.
Significant Content Reductions and Removals
While the new syllabus introduces new historical figures, it also involves the removal or reduction of several existing topics. The curriculum overhaul includes:
- Mughal Era: A reduction in content related to the Mughal era.
- Communism: A reduction in content related to communist ideologies.
- Singur Land Movement: The removal of specific chapters regarding the Singur land movement from Class 8 history textbooks.
- Kanyashree Scheme: References to the Kanyashree scheme will be removed from health and hygiene textbooks for Classes 6 to 8.
A committee member explained that the removal of the Kanyashree scheme from textbooks was based on the principle that specific government schemes should not be integrated into the academic school curricula.
Implementation Timeline and Oversight
The revision process is being managed by a high-level Syllabus-cum-Curriculum Committee, chaired by Professor (Dr.) Debashis Chatterjee. The committee has been working through a structured timeline, following a notification issued in July 2026 and finalizing a draft curriculum by late September 2026.
Education Minister Deepak Burman stated that the transition will be managed carefully. For the 2027 academic session, the state will continue to use existing textbooks but with minor modifications. The ultimate goal is to achieve a comprehensive overhaul that aligns with the National Education Policy 2020, which is targeted for full implementation by the 2028 academic year.