Kolkata: The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) is setting up a modern book mart at its head office, Vidyasagar Bhavan in Salt Lake, to ensure easy availability of books for students.
According to Council sources, there are about 7,000 Higher Secondary schools across the state, with the Council responsible for supplying books to all. However, some schools have yet to receive their books, even though the third semester examinations are scheduled for September.
The new book mart will stock both Council-prescribed books and private publishers’ titles approved by the Council. Schools that have not received their supplies can collect Council books directly from the mart, while students may also purchase approved private books for reference. Council books are printed at Saraswati Press and sent to districts through the District Inspector of Schools (DI) offices. This distribution process, however, has proved time-consuming, with around 1,000 schools still missing books for some subjects. The matter has been brought to the Council’s attention.
State Education minister Bratya Basu will inaugurate the book mart on August 14. It will initially house around 6,000 books. The Council also plans to introduce e-commerce facilities, allowing schools to place online orders for delivery via courier.
At present, the Council offers 62 subjects at the Higher Secondary level, 15 of which are language-based. Some language books, including Bengali and English, have not reached schools, forcing students to rely on online study materials.