Page 28 - EW-January-2026

Education News

mote life skills through co-curricular ment. May 2023, Justice Abhijit Gangopad-
education. According to Lokesh the With enlightened governments hyay — who was subsequently given
event convened simultaneously in 13 whose leaders comprehend the a BJP ticket and became a Lok Sabha
cities and towns statewide, was the importance of education in the MP — had cancelled the appointment
largest PTM in Indian history. More- global language of business, law of 32,000 of the 42,500 government
over, in the state’s 2025-26 budget, and diplomacy as the cornerstone school teachers who were appointed
the allocation for education was of socio-economic development after they successfully wrote TET
raised by 6.34 percent to Rs.34,000 engaged in intense competition, the 2014.
crore of which Rs.29,909 crore was future looks bright for these twin Subsequently, the ruling TMC
allocated for K-12 education. states separated by politics, but not and Banerjee suffered another huge
On the other side of AP’s border, ambition. setback when last April the Supreme
on September 19, Reddy announced Priyanka Edupuganti (Hyderabad) Court upheld a Calcutta high court
a Bharat Future City (BFC) in Ranga verdict invalidating 25,753 teach-
Reddy district, 35 km from Hyder- WEST BENGAL ing and non-teaching appointments
abad. Spread across 30,000 acres, made after another tainted TET 2016
BFC is envisaged as India’s first pol- Nihilistic narratives was held. In the circumstances, the
lution-free education-centric smart December 3 Calcutta high court order
city, integrating education, research, or the past several years, po- setting aside Justice Gangopadhyay’s
innovation and entrepreneurship. litical pundits — including your judgement relating to TET 2014, has
The project, to be developed over the Fcorrespondent — in West Ben- evoked a collective sigh of relief within
next decade, will comprise dedicated gal have been predicting that a series TMC and Banerjee. Invalidation of the
zones for higher education, health of education scandals that have erupt- appointment of almost 55,000 teach-
sciences, artificial intelligence, cli- ers in a state where govern-
mate innovation, and digital manu- ment school teachers jobs
facturing. With a projected invest- are highly prized, would
ment of Rs.1.8 lakh crore under the have been an unbearable
public-private partnership model, blow to the electoral for-
BFC is scheduled to be completed by tunes of the TMC which is
2028. already experiencing anti-
nder the BFC blueprint, a Global incumbency headwinds.
UEducation and Research District Another fortuitous de-
will host international university velopment that bodes well
campuses, national universities, for TMC and Banerjee in
skill academies, and think tanks, all the run-up to the legislative
focused on next-generation learning. election next summer, is the
The proposed zone will also include outcome of the first-phase of
residential schools, teacher training Mamata Banerjee: court verdict lifeline the Special Intensive Revi-
centers, and incubation labs connect- sion (SIR) of electoral rolls
ed by a unified digital grid. Accord- ed during the rule of the Trinamool published on December 9. It has qui-
ing to the Telangana Department of Congress (TMC) government — now etly but decisively undercut the BJP’s
Education and Skill Development, serving its third consecutive term — is core voter base in urban and semi-ur-
discussions have been initiated with likely to prove its nemesis in the legis- ban Bengal by striking off 5.8 million
top ranked universities in Finland, lative assembly election scheduled to names from the electoral list, most of
Singapore, and the UK, as also with be held in April-May. them of non-Bengali Hindus, reduc-
IIIT-Hyderabad, ISB, and NALSAR However a December 3 judgement ing the number of the total electorate
to establish satellite campuses within of a Division Bench of the Calcutta from 76 million to 70.08 million.
the city. high court setting aside an earlier This is a setback for BJP which
It’s also pertinent to note that single bench order that had cancelled has emerged as TMC’s most formi-
despite TDP’s alliance at the Centre the appointment of 32,000 primary dable rival for the hearts and minds
with the BJP which has an aversion school teachers because of alleged of the electorate because non-Bengali-
to English, Naidu has not reversed cheating, impersonation and faulty speaking Hindu migrants from Uttar
his predecessor government’s policy recruitment following a Teacher Eli- Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajas-
of English/Inglish as the compulsory gibility Test (TET) held in 2014, has than are BJP’s most ardent support-
medium of education statewide. come as a lifeline to beleaguered Chief ers, and their votes are crucial espe-
Ditto Telangana’s Congress govern- Minister Mamata Banerjee. Earlier in cially in closely fought constituencies.

28 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2026