The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will open a sub-regional office in Agartala, Tripura, following concerns over the underperformance of state-run schools affiliated with it. This move comes after the state’s introduction of the CBSE English-medium curriculum in 125 schools, rechristened as Vidyajyoti Schools, since the BJP took power in 2018. Despite the transition, student performance in the CBSE class 10 and 12 examinations has been disappointing, with only 61% of class 10 students and 59% of class 12 students passing this year.
Previously, these schools operated under the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) with Bengali as the medium of instruction. The change to the CBSE English-medium curriculum has raised concerns, particularly over the challenges faced by students who studied in Bengali-medium schools up until class 8 and then faced the challenge of taking their board exams in English.
In response to these issues, the CBSE sub-regional office will serve as a resource for affiliated schools in the region. The office will provide essential services such as admission assistance, subject corrections, student record updates, exam centre coordination, mark sheet corrections, grievance redressal, and teacher training facilitation. The office is also expected to work closely with the state’s education bodies and other educational institutions to ensure the smooth functioning of the examination process and support student development activities.
Initially, the office will operate temporarily from the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya building until a permanent location is identified. The state government has committed to allocating suitable land for the establishment of a dedicated office. Abhijit Samajpati, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Education Department, emphasized that this initiative aims to strengthen educational infrastructure and expand learning opportunities for students across Tripura.
This move has been welcomed as an effort to improve the educational environment in the state, although opposition parties have criticized the government’s handling of the transition, claiming that the change to English-medium education has harmed students’ future prospects.
