Calcutta, May 27: The government today put on hold its plan to introduce English medium in state-run schools.

“We need to discuss the running of the English medium simultaneously with the Bengali medium,” school education minister Partha De said after a cabinet meeting today.

“We are not saying the proposal has been shelved permanently,” he added.

He refused to say if there was any chance of the English medium units starting from the 2008 session.

The government had earlier announced its plan to start English medium wings in its secondary and higher secondary schools from this session. The plan was to be first implemented in city schools like Hindu, Hare, Bethune, Sakhawat Memorial, Ballygunge Government and BD Government.

When the proposal came up for discussion today, PWD minister and RSP leader Kshiti Goswami said it should not be implemented before a discussion in the Left Front. He also wanted the opinion of academics, teachers and students before a decision on “such a sensitive matter” was taken.

Goswami said the chief minister and finance minister Asim Dasgupta readily accepted “my suggestion” with an assurance of “a fresh look”.

The decision, however, came as a blow to many students who took this year’s Madhyamik exams, the results of which will be declared tomorrow.

“With more and more students taking national-level entrance tests, it has become extremely important for them to develop a command on Eng- lish at the Plus II level,” said a teacher of a reputable school.

“Good students will suffer even after scoring high marks in Madhyamik if schools do not open avenues for them to study the Plus II-level in English,” he added.