Two state-aided Bengali medium schools in Siliguri have decided to introduce two new subjects — Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science — in higher secondary classes in the upcoming academic year.
According to sources, students opting for science in Class XI in the 2024-25 academic session in Netaji Boys’ High School and Tarai Tarapada Adarsha Vidyalaya can opt for these new subjects.
Rajib Ghosh, the headmaster of Netaji Boys’ High School, said this move was taken with the future of students in mind. "In the choice-based credit system, students have the freedom to opt for different courses. They can now study AI and data science, which can help them pursue further studies in these subjects and excel in their career,” said Ghosh.
The curriculum of the subjects was prepared by West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) and endorsed by the department of computer science and engineering of Jadavpur University, Calcutta, said sources. Last year, both schools sent their teachers for training so that they teach these subjects, said sources. The training was conducted by the WBCHSE jointly with the department of computer science and engineering of Jadavpur University.
Pradip Roy, the computer science teacher of Tarai Tarapada Adarsha Vidyalaya, who had taken part in the training, said that initially only science students in Classes XI and XII would be able to take these two subjects.
“In due course, these subjects can also be extended to students of other streams. At the training, we were taught the nitty-gritty of the curriculum set by the Council (WBCHSE) for these two subjects,” said Roy.
Both the schools have computer science as a subject and a proper computer lab to be able to introduce the new subjects.
“The two schools could meet the requirements set by the Council for launching the new subjects,” said a source.