‘Introduce Library & Information Science in HS curriculum from 2025-26 academic session’

Kolkata: A section of teachers has urged the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) to introduce Library and Information Science as a subject in the Higher Secondary (HS) curriculum from the 2025-26 academic session.

The All Post Graduate Teachers Welfare Association recently submitted a formal request, highlighting the subject’s importance in boosting students’ career opportunities. Association secretary Chandan Garai said: “Library Science is a professional subject and it should be included at the HS level. Schools should also appoint permanent librarians.” Currently, the subject is already part of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum and is taught at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in various universities. Teachers believe its inclusion in the HS curriculum would help students gain early exposure to a career-oriented subject.

WBCHSE has already announced five new subjects, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Environmental Science, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Business Mathematics and Basic Statistics, and Basic Mathematics for Social Sciences, for the upcoming academic session. However, teachers argue that Library and Information Science is equally important, especially as the state government is investing in school libraries.

Chiranjib Bhattacharya, WBCHSE president, responded positively to the proposal, saying: “This is a good suggestion and we will consider it. Library Science is a career-oriented subject and we are already introducing several

contemporary subjects.”