INTRO
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced the end of ₹10,000 mobile assistance for Class 11 and 12 students, citing concerns over phone use.
KOLKATA
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday announced that the state government will stop providing the one-time ₹10,000 financial assistance to Class 11 and 12 students for buying mobile phones. The scheme was introduced by the previous Trinamool Congress government.
Adhikari said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government was willing to spend more on modern infrastructure to improve students’ education, but would not provide money for mobile phones. The announcement marks a change from the ‘Taruner Swapno’ scheme launched in 2022.
Under the scheme, students in Classes 11 and 12 received one-time financial assistance to purchase smartphones, tablets and computers. Adhikari said schools should instead follow the Gujarat model and keep students away from mobile phones as much as possible.
The chief minister had earlier indicated that his government could consider banning mobile phones in schools. Speaking at a Teachers’ Day function last week, he cited Gujarat, where students up to Class 12 are prohibited from bringing mobile phones to schools.
Adhikari argued that mobile phones have a major negative impact on schoolchildren and said excessive use could affect their sleep. He acknowledged that restricting phones could be politically difficult, but maintained that the government was prepared to take a tough decision in the interest of students. The TMC, which governed West Bengal for 15 years, was voted out of power this year. The new government’s decision ends the financial assistance previously provided under its flagship student-focused scheme for digital devices.
