Kolkata: West Bengal's Left Front government on Thursday criticised the educational reforms outlined by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, dubbing them as efforts aimed at "absolute centralisation" and "privatisation" of the education system.

State Secondary Education Minister Partha Dey said having a single board exam in standard 12 across the country will make "the entire thing absolutely centralised".

Earlier in the day, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal announced a slew of measures, including optional Class 10 board exams, accreditation agencies for schools, free education and private sector involvement in primary learning.

"Most of the measures the minister has spoken of will only lead to total privatisation of education. This will take education beyond the reach of students from ordinary families," Dey told reporters here.

"The government education system will suffer. We have to make people conscious about the pitfalls of these ideas," he added. IANS