Bengal: Few takers in science seats in XI, HS board encourage students to study science

Mita Mukherjee
Alarmed approximately the continuous decline in range of students choosing science movement on the plus two stage ( XI and XII) inside the country, the nation higher secondary council of Bengal has determined to release a campaign earlier than the begin of the brand new academic consultation to attract students lower back to science.

The council will quickly start engaging in workshops to provide modern-day records and supply guidance to higher secondary school instructors concerning implementation of the newly added semester system inside the better secondary path wherein special emphasis may be given on teaching of technology topics and a way to make the subjects extra attractive to college students, Chiranjib Bhattacharya, president, West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education said.

Not greater than 12 percent of the whole candidates who cleared the Madhyamik (Class X board) exam within the state had signed up for the technological know-how circulation in the final 3 years, which has induced the council to create attention among college students about the importance of reading technology, council officials stated.

Nearly eighty,000 college students that is most effective around 10 percentage of the entire variety of college students who cleared the Madhyamik (Class X board) exam in 2021 had enrolled in technology circulation in that year of whom only 20,000 had opted to examine arithmetic, assets stated.

The fashion remains continuing with most 12 percentage students signing up for the science streams within the following years, according to the assets.

According to lecturers and council officers, they initially believed that the purpose in the back of the low 10 according to cent enrollment in natural technology (physics, chemistry mathematics) and bio-technology (physics, chemistry and biology) will be due to effect of Covid-19 pandemic that affected everyday functioning of schools as establishments across the country had to transfer to the online mode of teaching for several months at a stretch.

Chiranjib Bhattacharya, council president stated the disinterest in technological know-how is an issue of concern although it isn’t always a brand new phenomenon and also not unique to Bengal. It is evident additionally in different components of India and even in lots of other countries.

“ Students, till a decade ago, might flock to the science streams. Over the beyond few years, science has stopped being the first desire. This is a countrywide phenomenon and there are numerous motives behind the decline in variety of takers in technological know-how. But we want to draw extra college students to the technological know-how streams and this is feasible with the aid of making the procedure of coaching and gaining knowledge of of technological know-how topics extra appealing,” Bhattacharya advised EducationWorld.

“With the bifurcation of the higher secondary course with the aid of introducing semester system from the contemporary 2024-25 educational consultation , the entire syllabus, examination machine, question sample were recast and made extra scholar-friendly and appealing. We are looking forward to that with the creation of the semester device, extra students will progressively display interest to come again to technology. We will begin a marketing campaign to sensitize students in the direction of studying technology,” Bhattacharya stated.

Bengal had observed a pointy 33 percentage drop in enrollment of college students inside the technological know-how circulate in 2014 when the range of college students opting science had dropped to a hundred and fifteen,000 from 300,000 in 2011.

Goutam Banerjee, secretary of Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management, an business enterprise that provides stipend of Rs 750 consistent with month to needy and meritorious students, currently organized a workshop with heads of round 125 better secondary colleges to speak about approximately introduction of new topics, synthetic intelligence and system gaining knowledge of within the higher secondary path in which many colleges had discovered that variety of takers for seats in their technological know-how streams were regularly reducing.

Arundhuti Mukherjee, a veteran trainer of arithmetic, said that much less college students are opting technological know-how due to the fact new fields are rising in subjects like geography, English, sociology and journalism that open accurate career options and task opportunities.

“ Students are step by step turning into extra profession orientated and so they don’t blindly rush to examine technological know-how. The fear of math is there however this isn’t always the most effective purpose for the decline. Earlier, there was a social stigma that scholars analyzing arts and trade aren’t excellent in studies. Students and parents too have triumph over this mental block,” stated Mukherjee.