Kolkata, Dec 4 West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, entered into a war of words on Thursday after the latter's social media post, criticising the Mamata government over the fee for the Higher Secondary examination.
"In West Bengal, education is supposed to be free. But Mamata Banerjee's government will somehow, or the other try to collect money from the students," Adhikari said in his social media post.
"Through a notification of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), the heads of all educational institutions and students under the council have been informed that the prescribed fee will have to be deposited at the time of registration for the higher secondary examination of 2026. Even the centre fee will be collected separately from the candidates," the BJP leader said.
The leader of the opposition also claimed that this money was being collected from students in a completely "illegal and immoral" manner.
"It should be stopped immediately, and the money must be returned to those from whom it has already been taken," Adhikari said in his social media post.
Soon after that, Basu, in a counter social media post, accused Suvendu Adhikari of "misleading" the people in the matter.
The Education Minister said the CBSE board has sent a notice to all its affiliated schools and also shared a copy of that on social media.
"For his information, I have given the notice of the examination fee of the CBSE board under the central government for 2025. The state government provides free education to everyone! Along with this, I have also attached the press release of the President of WBCHSE for everyone's information so that the truth and falsehood become clear to everyone. Stop misleading propaganda," the State Education Minister claimed.
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