Special needs support in West Bengal.
Shadow teachers, special educators and remedial tutors for families in Kolkata and Howrah, and online remedial tutoring for children elsewhere in West Bengal.
West Bengal
Kolkata is our in-person city in West Bengal, and for us it includes Howrah on the far bank of the Hooghly. The city's school map is distinctive. ICSE and ISC schools are a long-standing part of it, many of them decades old, alongside CBSE schools, a large state board system whose students sit Madhyamik and the Higher Secondary, and a smaller number of IB and Cambridge programmes. Households are often multi-generational, and Bengali is the language of most homes, with Hindi and Urdu widely spoken too. A family may have a child in an old school in Ballygunge, a therapist across town on the EM Bypass and grandparents running the afternoon. Special Minds introduces vetted shadow teachers, special educators and remedial tutors to families across Kolkata, speaks to the school before any shadow teacher is placed, and offers online remedial tutoring across the state.
In person in Kolkata. Families in Siliguri, Durgapur, Asansol, Kharagpur, Bardhaman, Haldia and elsewhere in West Bengal can use online remedial tutoring.
Schools and boards.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education runs Madhyamik in Class 10, and the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education runs the Higher Secondary exam in Class 12. As at the time of writing (October 2026), both provide concessions such as extra time and a writer for candidates with a certified disability, and the school applies on the student's behalf. What a particular child receives depends on the certificate and on the board's current notification, so confirm it with the school or the board. Many Kolkata families use CISCE schools instead, where compensatory time is 20 minutes per hour and an ICSE candidate may be exempted from the second language on a valid certificate. CBSE schools enter requests on the board's online CWSN portal with the list of candidates, while Cambridge and the IB decide on recent professional evidence and do not accept a UDID card alone.
Bengali is the state language and is taught as a subject across boards in West Bengal, often as the second language in Kolkata's ICSE and CBSE schools, with Hindi the usual alternative. At home, Kolkata families speak Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and English, often more than one. For a child with dyslexia that can mean three scripts: the Roman alphabet for English, Bengali with its conjunct letters, and Devanagari for Hindi, or the right-to-left Urdu script in some homes. Progress in one does not guarantee progress in another, so ask the school early which languages your child must study.
Public support and paperwork.
In West Bengal, as everywhere in India, a disability certificate and UDID card are issued only through swavlambancard.gov.in, by medical authorities the state notifies. A parent applies to the authority for the district where the family lives, or to a hospital where the child is already being treated. Under the 2024 national guidelines, a specific learning disability is certified from age 8, so a younger child who is struggling to read may need support well before any certificate is possible. The State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities can inquire into a complaint that a child's rights under the RPwD Act have been denied. Government and aided schools draw on the inclusive education support of Samagra Shiksha, and District Early Intervention Centres at district hospitals take referrals from parents of young children. This is the position at the time of writing (October 2026); confirm it before you apply.
Neighbourhoods we cover
Kolkata: Salt Lake · New Town · Ballygunge · Alipore · Behala · Tollygunge · Howrah
Support by need
Questions from families in West Bengal
Can my child with dyslexia be excused from Bengali at a Kolkata school?+
It depends on the board and the school. At the time of writing, CISCE allows an ICSE candidate to be exempted from the second language on a valid certificate, and CBSE allows one compulsory language in place of two. For a state board student, ask the head teacher what the board currently permits. Either way, ask the school in writing which languages your child must study.
Does the Madhyamik or Higher Secondary board give extra time or a writer?+
Yes, for candidates with a certified disability, at the time of writing. The school applies on the student's behalf, and what is granted depends on the certificate and the board's current notification. Raise it with the head teacher well before Class 10 or Class 12, and confirm the current process with the school or the board.
Can a shadow teacher travel from Behala to a school in Salt Lake?+
It is a long cross-city route, and at school hours it can take far longer than the distance suggests, whether through the centre or along the EM Bypass. We prefer to introduce someone who lives nearer the school, in Salt Lake, Lake Town or New Town for example, and we speak to the school before anyone is placed.
We live in Siliguri. Can our child get online remedial tutoring?+
Yes. Families anywhere in West Bengal can use online remedial tutoring with a vetted tutor, a written plan and a monthly report. Tutors work in English, and in Bengali or Hindi where the candidate pool allows. Shadow teachers and home special educators are introduced in person in Kolkata and Howrah only.
Blogs for families in West Bengal
ICSE and ISC concessions for dyslexia and learning disabilities: the CISCE rules12 min
CBSE concessions for learning disabilities and autism: CWSN portal, dates and documents12 min
Dyslexia in Hindi and Indian languages: matras, aksharas and three languages11 min- UDID card for autism or learning disability: how to apply for a child in India12 min
Home or online remedial tutoring: how to choose for a child with a learning disability4 min
Early intervention in India: DEICs, RBSK and where to find free help12 min
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