Chief minister Mamata Banerjee told university vice-chancellors and college principals to “focus on” introducing subjects like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science considering the demand of the time.

Mamata was speaking at the closing ceremony of Students Week 2025. In the audience at Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium were top government officials and academic heads.

“I would tell the vice-chancellors and the principals who have assembled here to focus on introducing new subjects like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science. You have to recognise the demand of the time,” the chief minister said.

The state higher secondary council has introduced artificial intelligence and data science in government and aided schools at the plus-II level, said an education department official.

However, finding trained teachers has been difficult. The school infrastructure, too, has been found wanting on many occasions.

Mamata in her address appealed to students not to leave the state to pursue higher studies as many universities have been set up in Bengal in recent years.

The chief minister’s push to introduce the new subjects in government institutions came at a time when only private autonomous colleges have shown the initiative.

Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, introduced artificial intelligence and machine learning at the MSc level this year. St Xavier’s University will roll out BTech programmes in artificial intelligence and computer science in 2026.

An education department official said: “We have seen that many students leave Bengal to pursue undergraduate studies right after the school-leaving exams. Many undergraduate seats remain vacant in colleges here. Maybe students will be interested in studying here if the new-age courses are introduced.”

On October 3, 2024, Metro reported that over 4 lakh of the 9 lakh undergraduate seats in Bengal’s government and government-aided colleges remained vacant after the centralised counselling.

The principal of Lady Brabourne College, Siuli Sarkar, who attended the programme at the Alipore auditorium on Wednesday, said: “Introduction of courses like artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science will definitely help an institution attract bright students. We have plans to introduce such courses in future. We have already conducted several seminars on our campus to spread awareness about the importance of AI among students.”

Another college principal who was present at the programme said the job was easier said than done as the introduction of new-age courses the chief minister talked about required huge investments in infrastructure. “The colleges don’t have so much funds. If the government does not provide funds, how will we develop the facilities? Minus infrastructure, the courses will flounder,” theprincipal said.

The higher secondary council decided to merge data science and artificial intelligence within two years of introducing the two subjects. Many teachers said the council was forced to do that after a hurried start without working on the logistics and infrastructure.

Mamata said: “I don’t think there is any need to go outside Bengal to pursue studies as we have established several universities and colleges in Bengal. There are several top universities in Calcutta.... Even if you go outside Bengal to study, please come back to Bengal after completion of studies.”

Bengal has 12 private universities, all of which were established after Mamata came to power in 2011.

The Assembly had in December 2024 approved bills to establish three more private universities. These are Bhawanipur Global University in Tollygunge, Rabindranath Tagore University in Dhaniakhali, Hooghly, and Ramakrishna Paramahansa University in Agarpara, North 24-Parganas. There are 34 state-aided universities in Bengal.

Before 2011, there were only 11 universities in the state and all were state-sponsored,education minister Bratya Basu told the Assembly onDecember 10.