Kolkata: The Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education department is all set to include artificial intelligence (AI) and data science subjects in 11 madrasahs in the state to help students at the higher secondary level get better job opportunities.
“We have earmarked 11 madrasahs among which six are English medium ones where we will have facilities of subjects like AI and Data Science. The laboratories in these schools are being upgraded. The students appearing for their class XII examinations in 2026 from these madrasahs can opt for these two subjects as per their preference,” said Abid Hossain, director of the state Directorate of Madrasah Education. The department is hopeful of completing the upgradation of the laboratories in these 11 institutions by October.
The madrasahs offering these two subjects are based in Malda, Murshidabad, East Burdwan and Nadia. The selected madrasahs already have Computer Science which is very much connected to AI. “The teachers of Computer Science will have an orientation programme so they can teach the two subjects,” said a Directorate official. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education has already introduced these two subjects from the academic year 2023-24 .
“Hence, we feel that the Madrasah students too should not lag behind, considering the demand of experts in these two areas in the modern world,” he added.
There are 349 madrasahs in the state that impart education upto the class XII level.
The department has received an allocation of Rs 5530.65 crore for the financial year 2024-25, 11.7 times more than Rs 472 crore in the 2010-11 fiscal, highlighting the state’s commitment to develop minority education.