Agartala, May 18:
The poor performance of the first batch of Class 10 and 12 students from 125 schools under the Vidyajyoti Scheme has sparked a political controversy in Tripura.
These schools, previously affiliated with the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE), were converted to English medium and affiliated with CBSE after the BJP came to power.
The recently announced CBSE results showed pass percentages of 61% for Class 10 and 55% for Class 12. Additionally, 32% and 22% of students from these respective classes have been placed in the compartment category, eligible for improvement exams.
The underwhelming performance of many renowned schools, including those in Agartala, has led to criticism from opposition parties, CPIM and Congress, who blame the BJP for the bleak situation.
Chief Minister Manik Saha, who also serves as the Education Minister, acknowledged the subpar performance of Vidyajyoti schools in a press conference.
He announced plans to convene a meeting with Education Department officials to address the issue.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M)-backed Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Tripura Students’ Union (TSU) protested at the Education Department’s headquarters, Siksha Bhavan, over the poor performance.
Sujit Tripura, one of the protesters, attributed the poor results to the unplanned switch from Bengali to English medium and a shortage of qualified teachers.
Opposition Leader and CPIM state secretary Jitendra Chowdhury accused former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and ex-Education Minister Ratanlal Nath of implementing an RSS agenda that compromised the education system.
He highlighted the shortage of teachers following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of 10,323 teachers and criticized the government for not recruiting new teachers beside lack of competen teacher who can teach in English.
Chowdhury argued that students who had been studying in Bengali suddenly had to take exams in English, which significantly impacted their performance.
Congress senior leader Sudip Roy Barman echoed these concerns, alleging financial discrepancies and calling for an investigation.
Roy Barman, a former Minister and MLA accused the former CM, Education Minister, and certain officials in thr name of NGOs misused funds intended for teacher training, book printing, and other services under the Vidyajyoti scheme.
BJP spokesperson Subrata Chakraborty defended the government’s efforts, claiming that the highlighted results were selective and not indicative of all schools’ performances.
He acknowledged the need for improvement and stated that the government is organizing special classes for students who will be taking the improvement exams to boost the pass rate.
The controversy underscores the broader challenges facing Tripura’s education system, with political parties divided over the causes and solutions for the poor performance in Vidyajyoti schools.
