Kolkata: Bengal govt has asked its syllabus committee to design school curricula that can be completed within 200 to 210 working days, state education minister Dipak Barman said on Thursday.He also said the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) would be held annually for fresh recruitment, comparing it to annual festivals such as Durga Puja, Laxmi Puja and Saraswati Puja.The govt constituted a new syllabus-cum-curriculum committee after taking office. The panel has prepared a draft with immediate changes for the academic session beginning Jan 2, while a fully revised syllabus is likely to be introduced in 2028.“I have advised the syllabus committee that syllabus should be designed in such a way that it can be completed within 200 to 210 lesson plans. They are looking into it. We are also considering how to increase the number of academic days in the upcoming academic year, alongside a few other plans,” Barman said.According to the academic calendar, schools have around 248 operating days, of which 65 are designated as general holidays, leaving about 218 teaching days.A headmaster of a central Kolkata school said schools typically have about 200 days to cover the syllabus across three summative terms, and any further reduction in working days could make timely completion difficult.Barman also said the government had released Rs 997 crore under PM-Poshan through the Single Nodal Agency (SNA) portal, covering cooking costs and cook-cum-helper honorariums through Oct.Following cabinet approval, the school education department has also sanctioned an additional Rs 400 crore for contractual staff. Their monthly remuneration will increase by Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 from Oct 1, he said.
