Kolkata, Advocating for a ‘one state, one education’ policy in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has announced that the Kolkata-based Aliah University, earlier managed by the state Minority Affairs Department, will be shifted to the administrative fold of the Higher Education Department.
Speaking on the need for greater uniformity in the state’s education system, Adhikari said there should be a common policy governing educational institutions across West Bengal, and declared that Aliah University, like other state-run institutions of higher learning, would be brought under the ambit of the National Education Policy (NEP).
He emphasised the need for streamlining the administration and functioning of institutions under a unified framework.
“Aliah University will remain, but under the purview of the Higher Education Department. We will not allow any parallel education system in the state. The institutions will operate under the umbrella of the NEP and will follow the ‘one state, one education’ policy,” Adhikari said, following a state cabinet meeting at the secretariat.
The move, he said, would help ensure greater coordination and consistency in the management of higher education institutions and allow students’ excellence solely on the basis of their merit.
“When I handed over awards to students this year for their exceptional performance in their board exams, the awardees also comprised students from the Muslim community.
“There were Christian, Jain and Buddhist students as well. Students must be awarded on the basis of their merit and performance, not on the basis of their religion. That policy of religious division was followed by the previous government, but we won’t,” the CM said.
Pledging government support to meritorious students across religious communities, Adhikari maintained that his government was trying to fix “mistakes” of the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government.
“We want students across religious communities to perform and establish themselves in their respective professional fields on the basis of their merit. The government will provide all necessary support to them. They can also travel overseas for studies and we have removed financial criteria for applications to the Vivekananda Merit Scholarship programme,” he said.
“We are trying to give a fillip to merit to bring about excellence and there will be no division based on religion for that. A government cannot follow the policy of providing scholarship to only Muslim students in middle school and deprive others of the benefit. Students should only be judged as students irrespective of their religion. These were the mistakes of the previous government which are now getting rectified,” Adhikari added.
The CM’s remarks came amid discussions over reforms in the state’s higher education sector and the need to establish a more coherent administrative structure.
The proposal to bring Aliah University under the Higher Education Department is likely to trigger a debate over the institution’s existing administrative framework and autonomy, an observer said, requesting anonymity.
Last week, while speaking at an event to mark the 74th anniversary of Vidya Bharati — schools run by the education wing of the RSS — Adhikari expressed his desire to establish 1,000 such schools across the state within a year.
Earlier, the CM had also suggested merging the state’s four education departments into one, specifying that there would be no separate administration for madrassa education.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Adhikari also announced that the state cabinet cleared a proposal for amending an Act governing internal transfer of teachers and non-teaching staffers at state-run universities.
The West Bengal University and College Administration and Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 will be tabled for passage at a special session of the state Assembly on September 10, he said. PTI
