Jalpaiguri, July 24: Students of Hindi-medium schools in Jalpaiguri have demanded that question papers of Higher Secondary and Madhyamik examinations be printed in Hindi. They have also urged the education authorities to publish more texts and reference books in the same language.

“Hindi-medium students appearing for Madhayamik and the Higher Secondary exams, face a tough time answering questions papers which are printed in Bengali or English. There is also a shortage of text and reference books for Hindi-medium students at Madhyamik and Higher Secondary levels. Both the board and the council should take necessary steps in this regard,” said Ranjit Paswan, a state secretariat member of the Paschim Bangal Chattra Sanghash Samaj.

According to him, question papers and the lack of adequate books are responsible for the poor performance of the students appearing for board exams from the Hindi-medium schools of Jalpaiguri.

Teachers of Hindi-medium schools agree. “This year, as many as 90 students took the Madhyamik exam from my school. Of them, only one managed to secure a first division. As many as 28 students failed in the science group. Their performance in the pre-board examinations was far better than their final results,” says Tara Roy, headmistress of Marwari Balika Vidyalaya, Jalpaiguri.

Sunidhi Agarwala, a student of the Marwari Balika Vidyalaya, said: “There are hardly any books available in Hindi and then there is the worry over the question papers. We should be given question papers written in Hindi.” Ramesh Karzi, a student of the Junior Hindi High School, echoes her. “We need to depend entirely on notes given by our teachers. Like other regional boards, the Madhayamik board should think of promoting books in Hindi.”

Dabirul Islam, district inspector of schools (secondary) of Jalpaiguri, admitted that students of Hindi-medium schools were facing a problem but said it was matter that has to be decided by the council and the board.