CHAPTER III

PRIMARY SCHOOLING IN WEST BENGAL AND KOLKATA

Introduction

This chapter provides a brief description of the state of West Bengal and

the condition of primary education in the state. Additionally, a broad overview

of primary education in the state and in Kolkata, where the study is conducted,

is the scope of this chapter.

Geographically, the state of West Bengal has an area of 88, 752 sq.

kilometres. There are 21 districts divided into 339 administrative blocks, in

which there are a total of37,910 villages. The total population of8,02,21,-171 or

roughly 80.22 million (according to 2001 Census) makes West Bengal the

fourth largest state in India in terms of population. 72 per cent of this population

lives in villages and 23.6 percent of this population is Scheduled Castes and 5.6

per cent are Scheduled Tribes (Census 2001). A high-density population (904

persons/sq. km), fairly high population growth rate (a decadal population

growth of 17.84 per cent), and a steadily growing process of urbanization are

some of the other characteristic demographic features of the state. The state has

a work participation rate of 36.8 per cent, with close to 29 million persons

contributing to the worktorce. Cultivators and agricultural labourers (19.2 per

cent and 25.0 percent respectively) make up 44.2 per cent of the total working

population, the remaining 55.8 per cent consisting of people working in

household industries and miscellaneous occupations (Census 2001). Linguistic

diversity is another prevalent characteristic of this state. 98 per cent of the

population speak in one or more of the five languages namely Bengali, Hindi,

Santhali, Urdu and Nepali (West Bengal2002: 2).

West Bengal has a literacy rate of 69.22 per cent. 77.58 of the literate

population are men and 60.22 per cent women. The literacy rate evidently is

still far short of 1 00 per cent literacy, but according to the census data, the

proportion of literates in the population of West Bengal has always been higher

then the con:esponding fi!,TUre for India (Ramachndran et al. 2003:7). The Total

literacy Campaign (TLC) has been one of the major initiatives in this respect,

61

bringing an additional 6.6 million people into basic literacy since its launch in

1989 (Theobald and Charaborty 1996:2). Apart from the TLC, other mass

literacy campaif,TilS like the Post Literacy Programme (PLC) and the Continuing

Education Programme (CEP) are implemented being implemented in seven

districts of the state which has resulted in an increase of 11.52 per cent of

literate persons between 1991 to 2001 (West Bengal2002: 5).

In West Bengal the percentage of expenditure towards education is

23.73 per cent of the total budgeted expenditure of the state, and it ranks ih

among all the states and UTs in this respect (India 2002-03: 17). However, the

relationship between financial investment in education and number of children

enrolled in schools is worth noting. The World Bank Report on attaining the

Millenium Development Goals in India (2004), that looks at inter-state

increases in elementary enrolments over 1980-81 to 1999-2000 relative to the

growth of per child public spending over the same period, reveal that over the

years, during 1980-1999, West Bengal ranked seventh from the bottom out of

all the states, with respect to the number of additional students enrolled in

primary school per million additional rupees worth government expenditure on

elementary schooling. The situation does not seem to improve over the years. In

fact, the number of enrolled children in primary schoois in 2002-03 has

decreased in comparison to 2001-02. While the total number of children

enrolled in primary schools in 2001-02 was 1,01,51 ,362, in the year 2003-03 it

is 97,74,543 (India 2002-03), despite an increase in government spending on

education.

This is in contrast to other initially poor, low-enrolled states like

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which were able to enrol large numbers of

children in primary education with relatively small increases in public spending

on elementary education (World Bank 2004:76). The explanation for this as

provided in the report is that the launch of beneficial education schemes like

Education Guarantee Scheme in Madhya Pradesh, expanded the number of

schools especially in rural areas, at a relatively low cost, while such education

schemes were lacking in West Bengal, along with poor states like Bihar and

Uttar Pradesh. This resulted in lacunae within provisioning of education that

62

once again, reflected on the enrolm~nt status. Also, the fact that at present the

state has a significantly high rate of household expenditure on education, which

is 61.54 per cent to the total government expenditure (India 2002-03: 18), shows

that in West Bengal, individual spending on education is more than public

spending due to lack of adequate educational provisions in the schools.

The primary schools in West Bengal are either run by the governrnent,

or by private bodies with the governrnent grants and aid. These private bodies

include affluent patrons, local bodies like community clubs and elected bodies

like panchayats. A number of schools are also missionary schools run by

Christian priests or nuns. Organisations like Ramakrishna Mission, Chinrnaya

Mission and Missionaries of Charity also run schools in the state. The Left­

Front Coalition government that is in power in the state and has been so since

1977, introduced the Education Policy of 1977 that contained several directives

that have since then been incorporated in the contemporary primary education

system. Free and compulsory education for all up to the elementary stage,

supply of free textbooks, paper, stationery and other contingencies to students

till class VIII, provision for mid-day meals till class IV and democratisation of

administrative bodies with representation of students and staff are some of the

policy measures that were expressed in the Education Policy of 1977 (Theooald

and Chakrabot1y 1996).

Between 1977 and 1992 there was an expansion m the number of

schools with the average distance between schools and living settlements being

reduced across the state (Wesst Bengal 1992). Free schooling till class IV with

provision of free textbooks to all students and free uniforms to girls till class IV,

opening of new schools with special focus on Dalit and Adivasi-inhabited areas,

increasing number of teacher appointments and improving of employment

conditions of teachers are some of the other salient features of the progress of

primary education till 1992 (Ramachandran et al. 2003). Though non-formal

education had been closed down in the state, other cost-effective methods of

alternative schooling have been adopted by opening of 'Shishu Shikhsha

Kendras' or SSKs, child education centres which are set up in any habitation

that has twenty or more children who do not access schooling. In terms of

63

providing students with education, some have stated that SSKs are more

effective than fonnal schools (Pratichi Education Report 2002), while others

point out flaws in the quality of teaching, which they claim is no different, or

sometimes worse, than fonnal schools (Rampal 2004: 48). The fact that SSKs

are being treated as alternatives to fonnal primary schooling rather than as

short-tenn measures for providing educational access is also a matter of concern

(Rampal 2004: 49)

Primary education in West Bengal is free for all children from the age

group 5-9. The primary schools are sometimes attached to secondary and

higher secondary schools. In addition to Bengali, four other languages are

recognised as media of instruction. They are Hindi, Urdu, Nepali and Oriya.

English is the second language that is introduced in class III (sometimes, even

in class II) and continues till class X. There is an external evaluation process

that takes place in standard II in which teachers from one school visit and

evaluate the learning achievement of the students in another school. This

external evaluation consists of both written and oral examinations. Besides this

external evaluation, the state follows a no-detention policy when it comes to

student evaluation from classes I-IV. The researcher's field experience has

shown, however, that an internal system of evaluation and assessment exists

from classes I-IV in some primary schools, especially schools under private

management. Also, as mentioned in the next chapter, students are sometimes

even detained in their final examinations if they are considered to be beneath

the minimum learning level of their class.

The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) was

established in I 973 but became operational only in 1990. It is responsible for

the management of primary education in West Bengal. It is a statutory body

comprising of elected representatives that advises the state government in all

matters relating to primary education. The WBBPE works through a number of

committees (Curriculum, Evaluation, Development and Finance) with

representatives from the Directorate of School Education, teachers, teacher

trainers, and Members of Parliament elected from the state. It supervises and

monitors school-related issues with respect to cuniculum, printing, publishing

64

and distribution of textbooks and other teaching aids, teacher transfers and

teacher training, and also recommending ofbudget estimates of District primary

School Councils to the Director of School Education (Theobald and

Chakraborty 1996: 36).

According to the most recently available statistics for the year 2002-03,

West Bengal has 49,851 primary schools, out of which 41,845 schools are

located in the rural areas (India 2002-03). The percentage of schools located in

the rural areas is 83.94 per cent. Considering the fact that 72 per cent of the

population in the state are in villages, it is evident that large numbers of primary

schools need to be located in rural areas. The corresponding India-wise figures

for the same have been provided in Table 3.1 along with those of the state. In

case of both the country and the state, the percentages of schools located in rural

areas are significantly large.

TABLE 3.1

NO. OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN INDIA AND WEST BENGAL

(2002-03)

India West Bengal

No. of primary schools 6,51,382 49,851

No. of primary schools in 5,73,085 41,845 rural areas Percentage of schools in 87.97 83.94 rural areas Source: India 2002-03

The total Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for primary education in the

state, which is the percentage of the enrolment in classes I-IV to the estimated

child population between 6-11 years of age, is 1 02.99 per cent in 2002-03-

102.60 for boys and 103.41 for girls. This is a decrease since the year 2001-02

when the total GER in West Bengal was 109.8 per cent-112.7 for boys and

106.82 for girls. However, despite the decrease, the GER is still higher than

the corresponding figures for India in 2002-03, not only the total GER, but also

individual GER for boys and girls, as shown in table 3.2.

65

TABLE 3.2

GER-COMPARISON BETWEEN INDIA AND WEST BENGAL

(2002-03)

GER at primary level

Boys Girls Total

India 97.5 93.1 95.4

L. Wes~ Bengal 102.6 103.4 103.0

Source: Ind1a (2002-03)

An important point that needs to be mentioned here is that GER in West

Bengal is calculated with regard to the students in classes I-IV, not I-V as in the

rest of the country, since primary schooling in the state consists of classes I-IV.

This could possible be a reason for a higher state-wise GER vis-a vis the entire

, country.

Groups like SC and ST children, whose education has been an area of

special focus by the state, have a total GER of 109.86 and 101.43 respectively

in the state. This is higher than the corresponding figures across India, as

presented in table 3.3. GER for SC boys and girls is significantly higher than the

country-wise figures, and though there is not much difference in the GER of ST

children, the state-wise figures are still higher then the country-wise figures.

This means that in West Bengal, the number of SC and ST children who are

over the 6-11 age is higher-a sign that they join school late.

TABLE3.3

GER FOR SC AND ST STUDENTS-INDIA AND WEST BENGAL

(2002-03)

GER at primary level

sc ST

Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

India 101.4 89.4 95.6 104.8 92.3 98.7

West Bengal 110.2 109.5 109.9 108.1 94.6 101.4

Source: India (2002-03)

66

The dropout rate for primary education is also high within the state in

comparison to the country. This means that a large number of children, though

initially enrolled in schools also drop out before completing primary education,

which in tum signifies that retention of children in schools is less than what is

desired. West Bengal has a dropout rate of36.41 per cent within classes I-IV in

2002-03. This is higher than the dropout rate for entire India, which is 34.9 per

cent. The total dropout rate and individual dropout rates for boys and girls have

been presented in table 3.4, both for West Bengal and India. A comparison of

between the two shows that sex-wise dropout rate for boys and girls are higher

in West Bengal than for India.

TABLE3.4

DROPOUT RATE-INDIA AND WEST BENGAL (2002-03)

Dropout rates at primary level

Boys Girls Total

India 35.9 33.7 34.9

West Bengal 37.4 35.3 36.4

Source: lndta (2002-03)

The dropout rates for SC and ST children also present a similar trend as

the total dropout rate. The state-wise dropout rates for SC and ST children are

significantly higher than that of India. This is true especially for SC children.

While the total dropout rate for SC children for India is 41.5 per cent, that in

West Bengal is 52.3 per cent, the difference in drop out rates being over 10 per

cent. The difference is much lower for ST children, around 4 per cent. The

figures for dropouts in the state and India for SC and ST children is presented in

table 3.5.

67

TABLE 3.5

DROPOUT RATES FOR SC AND ST-INDIA AND WEST BENGAL

(2002-03)

Dropout rates at primary level

sc ST

Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

India 41.1 41.9 41.5 50.8 52.1 51.4

West Bengal 50.3 54.8 52.3 54.0 59.3 55.5

Source: India (2002-03)

In terms of facilities provided in schools, West Bengal seems to be

lagging considerably in comparison to all India average. The most recent

information available so far regarding basic schooling facilities in primary

schools appears in the Sixth All India Educational Survey (NCERT 1999). In

the subsequent tables (table 3.6 and 3.7), information has been presented

regarding school buildings, toilet and drinking water facilities provided in

primary schools respectively.

According to the NCERT survey, school buildings in several areas are

still not pucca and schools are held in partially pucca, kachcha building or

sometimes even in tents or open spaces: In India as well as in West Bengal.

The schooling infrastructure, especially at the primary level, often does not

meet even the basic criteria of quality education. In West Bengal only around

37 per cent school buildings are wholly pucca in comparison to the nation-wide

figures of around 65 per cent. The percentage of schools that are partially

pucca or kachcha is also higher in West Bengal in comparison to the country.

While in West Bengal, around 37 per cent of the buildings are partially pucca

and 20 per cent of them are completely kachcha, the corresponding figures are

around 19 per cent and 9 per cent for India. The percentage of schools in tents

or open spaces is fairly the same percentage in the state as well for India. The

India-wise and state-wise figures for school buildings in 1993 have been

presented in Table 3.6.

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TABLE 3.6

TYPE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS-INDIA AND WEST BENGAL

(1999) -----

India West Bengal

Primary schools 5,70,455 48,557 -

Pucca buildings 3,71,186 (65.0 %) 18,039 (37.2 %)

Partly pucca buildings 1,06,468 (18.7 %) 18,143 (37.4 %)

Kaccha buildings 51,603 (9.0 %) 9,715 (20.0 %)

Thatched huts 17,250 (3.0 %) 1,004 (2.1 %)

Tents 2,090 (0.4 %) 58 (0.1 %)

Open space 21,858 (3.8 %) 1,598 (3.3 %)

Source: NCERT (1999)

In terms of basic amenities like toilet and drinking water facilities, it is

evident from table 3.7 that more schools in West Bengal provide for drinking

water and toilet facilities in comparison to the rest of the country. While in

West Bengal the percentage of schools with toilet facilities is 22 per cent of the

total schools, in India it is around 19 per cent. Close to 60 per cent of the total

number of schools in West Bengal have drinking water facilities. In

comparison, around 44 per cent of the total number of schools in India provide

students with drinking water facilities. However, separate toilets for girls are

inadequate in West Bengal. Both across India and within West Bengal, the

percentage of schools with separate toilets for girls is extremely low. In West

Bengal, the percentage is even lower in comparison to the all India average-­

barely close to 5 per cent, in comparison to around 9 per cent for India. This last

factor is a critical barrier to accessing education by girls, and this seems to be

true in case of West Bengal as well. In Table 3.7, this information has been

presented.

69

TABLE 3.7

SCHOOLS WITH TOILETS, DRINKING \VATER AND

SEPARATE TOILETS FOR GIRLS-INDIA AND WEST BENGAL

(1999)

Basic amenities India West Bengal

Toilet facilities 107986 (18.9 %) 10742 (22.1 %)

Drinking water 252313 (44.2 %) 28911 (59.5 %)

Separate toilets for girls 49420 (8.7 %) 2645 (5.4 %)

Source: NCERT ( 1999)

Apart from school buildings and basic amenities Eke toilets and drinking

water, facilities like libraries in primary schools are a necessity to facilitate the

process of teaching learning in schools. However, according to the Sixth All

India Education Survey, 12, 156 primary schools, that is, 25.0 per cent of the

total primary schools in West Bengal provide library facilities to students. The

percentage is much lower than the corresponding country-wise figures of 40.5

per cent. Other incentives like provision of free uniforms, free textbooks, are

also provided in West Bengal. In the state around 82 per cent of the total

number of schools provide free textbooks to students, and 33 per cent provide

free school uniforms. These figures are higher than the corresponding India­

wise figures of around 54 per cent and 29 per cent respectively. However, in

terms of provision of mid-day meals, the state's performance is lower than that

of the country, with around two per cent of the schools in West Bengal

providing mid-day meals to students, in comparison to around 14 per cent of

schools in India. Also, the performance of the state is dismally low in

comparison to the rest of the country with regards to free scholarship for girl

students in crder to provide impetus to girls' education. In comparison to 14

per cent of schools all over India that prqyide attendance scholarship to girls,

only 0.1 per cent of the schools in West Bengal provide them. All of this

information has been presented in Table 3.9.

70

TABLE 3.9

NO. OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS PROVIDING FREE

INCENTIVES-INDIA AND WEST BENGAL (1999)

Incentives provided India West Bengal

No. of schools providing 3,11,263 (54.6 %) 39,918 (82.2 %) free textbooks No. of schools providing 1,66,899 (29.2 %) 16,026 (33.0 %) free uniforms No. of schools providing 79,334 (14.0 %) 909 {1.9 %) mid-day meals Attendance scholarship 79,940 (14.1 %) 81 (0.1 %) for girls

Source: Indta (2002-03)

Primary Education in West Bengal (2001-02 and 2002-03)

A further scrutiny of the education scenario in West Bengal reveals that

over the last couple of years some of the provisioning facilities have

degenerated rather than improving. For instance, the total number of primary

schools in West Bengal has decreased since 2001-02, from 52,426 in 2001-02 to

49,581 in the year 2002-03 (India 2002-03). While in 2000 it was observed by

the state gove~ment that for satisfying the criterion of having a primary school

for every habitation 58, 261 schools are required in the state (West Bengal

2002), the desired number has not been reached; on the contrary there has been

a decrease even in the number of existing schools, which indicates a

deterioration in schooling facilities. Therefore, despite the state's focus on

universalising of primary education, it is evident that there is still significant

gap between policy measures and their implementation in real terms.

In terms of enrolment the performance of the state is noteworthy. The

total GER for the 6-11 age group has decreased from 109.8 in 2001-02 to

102.99 in the year 2002-03, which means more number of children within the 6-

11 age group are getting enrolled into schools. However, students in rural areas

and SC students have a high GER in terms of primary education. For the year

2002-03, the total GER for all children across West Bengal is actually less in

comparison to GER for children in rural areas, and SC children. The state-wise

71

GER for boys is less than the GER of boys in rural areas and also SC and ST

boys. However, the state-wise GER for girls is greater than the GER for ST

girls. Since GER includes overage children and it is children of the poor, the

marginalised and the deprived who either join late or repeat classes, or come

back after a gap, it is understandable that GER among the rural, the SC and the

ST children is high. However, forST girls the GER is still low, which possible ·

means that overage ST girls are not sent to school once they are withdrawn or

they drop out.

This data has been highlighted in Table 3.3, which presents a

comparison between the total GER within West Bengal, GER for children in

rural areas, SC and ST children. Within the table, GER have also been provided

separately for girls and boys across all categories. The high GER for SC and ST

boys at least mean that boys are getting enrolled into schools even when they

are overage.

TABLE 3.3

GER FOR ALL CHILDREN, CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS, SC AND

ST CHILDREN IN WEST BENGAL (2002-03)

GER at primary level

Boys Girls Total

All 102.60 103.41 102.99

Children in rural 105.46 105.77 105.61 areas

SC Children 110.20 109.52 109.86

ST Children 108.07 94.55 101.43

Source: Ind1a (2002-03)

Thus it is evident that the performance of children belonging to the

deprived sections of the society, especially the SC and the ST children is not

positive. What needs to be also noted is that the schooling of SC and ST

children is marked by a high dropout rate. The dropout rate for SC boys has

increased from 49.32 per cent in 2001-02 to 50.31 per cent in 2002-03. For the

72

girls it has decreased from 57.74 per cent in 2001-02 to 54.74 per cent in 2002-

03, but this is still a fairly high dropout rate. This indicates that in 2002-03,

more than half of the total enrolled SC children have dropped out from primary

schooling. The same is true for ST children. The total dropout rate for ST

students has increased from 54.95 per cent in 2001-02 to 55.54 per cent in 2002-

03. ForST boys, it has gone up from 53.63 per cent in 2001-02 to 53.70 per

cent in 2002-03. For the girls, the already high dropout rate of 57.71 per cent in

2001-02 has gone up to 59.26 per cent in the year 2002-03.

Thus, it can be said about education of SC and ST children that this is

still an area that needs improvement. Caste-concerns do exist in the state,

especially within districts with high concentration of Scheduled Castes and this

has been highlighted in recent studies (Pratichi Education Report 2002, Ghosh

and Rawal 2003). Stories of high-caste teachers unwilling to teach low-caste

students, or tales of high caste teachers inflicting severe physical punishments

on low-caste students are not uncommon. These relate why low caste students

are kept away from schools where higher caste students and teachers are present

(Pratichi Education Report 2002: 118).

Among the Scheduled Tribes, large-scale illiteracy still exists, and this

in tum affects the schooling of their children. Coupled with this is poverty and

exploitation by moneylenders and landowners. Thus, schooling of their

children occupies a low position in their priorities, involved as they are in a day­

to day struggle for survival. Also, language and the other cultural factors among

the Scheduled Tribes that are distinctly different from the mainstream education

impatted in school result in a cultural barrier even if they have access to

schools, which further reflects in their inability to complete education and

finally, dropping out (Sujatha 1996, Nambissan 2003).

In tenns of school infrastructure, the perfonnance of the state is not very

encouraging. As mentioned earlier, there are schools in West Bengal without

buildings or partially kachcha buildings as per the NCERT survey ( 1999). This

corresponds with the findings of Theobald and Chakraborty (1996) in their

investigation into the nature of primary schooling in the state, where it was

73

observed by the authors that the school buildings are in a state of disrepair and

most of the classrooms (especially in the rural areas) are kachcha, built of wood

or some other non-permanent material, or partly pucca, that is, brick walls with

a corrugated iron or thatched roof. Basic teaching-learning aids are also missing

. at times, as pointed out by Basu (1996) in his study conducted in seven, primary

schools in the district of South 24 Parganas. He points out lack of basic

teaching aids like balckboards in schools and emphasies on the need for

separate single classrooms for separate sections, especially in areas with high

population density.

The state also does not seem to have adequate number of teachers for all

the students. In 2002-03, the state had a pupil-teacher ration of 30:1, which is

lower then the pupil-teacher ratio of 35:1 in 2001-02. However, this seems to be

more so due to a drop in the total number of children enrolled in schools from

101,51 ,362 to 97,7 4,543 in 2002-03, since the number of teachers in primary

schools dropped from 1, 64,000 in 2001-02 to 1,51,255 in 2002-03 (India 2001-

02, India 2002-03).

Also, even the 30:1 ratio is fairly high in comparison to other states and

UTs, since West Bengal ranks seventh from the top in terms of state-wise pupil­

teacher ratio (India 2002-03). There seems to be a clear need for more number

of teachers across the state, especially keeping in mind the wide disparities that

sometimes is obscured by these state-wise figures. Chatterjee ( 1997), for

instance, in his study on the profile of school teachers in West Bengal

conducted a sample survey of teachers in the district of North 24 Parganas,

showed that teachers of rural schools have to take the responsibility of greater

number of students than their urban colleagues. In this study there were 18 rural

schools (19. 35 per cent of the total sample) with pupil-teacher ratio being

around 81-120 students per teacher. Basu ( 1996) in his study of quality

management in primary schools of South 24 Parganas district stated that an

additional number of 2, 218 teachers were required in the district to ensure a

pupil-teacher ratio of 50: 1 in the primary schools of the district.

74

There are also instances when teachers, though being employed to teach,

are not available for teaching. The Pratichi Report (2002), while discussing the

quality of schooling in West Bengal describes the active involvement of

teachers in state politics. This is a phenomenon that results in their neglecting

their teaching responsibilities, and results in a high teacher absenteeism rate in

schools. One incident mentioned in this report, for instance, is about a teacher

who, when interviewed by the researchers admitted that due to his

administrative responsibilities in the panchayat he missed school at least four

days in each month (Pratichi Report 2002: 17). However, teacher salaries form

part of government expenditure and allocation of funds towards teacher salaries

often affect the other infrastructure-related funds. A large portion of

infrastrurcture -related problems in primary schools in the West Bengal have

been ascribed to lack of financial resources, with 95 per cent of the total

primary education budget being allocated to teachers' salaries, leaving minimal

amounts to be spent on quality improvement programmes like

construction/repair of school buildings, or teacher training (Reddy 1998:36).

From the above discussion, it is evident that despite the initiatives taken

up by the state government, in almost every educational indicator there is a

scope of improvement. Over the past years, the state government has taken

major initiatives to make primary education available to all children and

implement the central schemes such as DPEP (District Primary Education

Programme, (launched in 1996-97 in the state) and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

(launched in 2000). There is also a sense of increasing accountability not only

on the part of the government but also the community towards improving the

overall quality of primary education .. There is an emphasis on measures of

quality improvement like providing of teachers' orientation programme, supply

of teaching-learning materials under various schemes, establishment of resource

centres and building up an effective monitoring system.

However, despite the state government's commitment to make primary

education available to all children, the status of primary education in West

Bengal is yet far off the mark in terms of universal access and retention.

Though student enrolment has increased over the years, there are still a large

75

number of children who drop out of schools with around 30 per cent of the total

population within the 5-9 age group not completing schooling (Nambissan

2003: 4). Problems related to lack of basic school infrastructure like school

buildings and classrooms and toilet and drinking water facilities abound. Large

pupil teacher ratios, especially in rural areas also impact the quality of teaching.

Also, lack of a proper inspection and monitoring system has been cited as a

major reason for non-implementation of educational measures in real terms

(West Bengal 1992, Basu, 1996, Chatterjee 1997).

After this discussion about the overall picture of education in West

Bengal, it is now important to focus the discussion on Kolkata, the city in which

the study was conducted. Kolkata (the renamed version of Calcutta since 2001)

is the capital of West Bengal. It has a history of more than 300 years, ever since

Job Charnock of the East India Company established the first Company factory

in Kolkata in 1690. Located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river (an arm

of the Ganges), the city, once the capital of the British India, is an important

river port and the most important urban centre in Eastern India. During the

British reign, Kolkata was also the seat of education and centre of trade as well

as the major metropolis of the colonial period. Even during Independence,

Kolkata was known as the 'economic capital' of India (Nambissan 2003: 12).

However, ever since Independence, the city has gone into decline over the years

due to a number of reasons like degeneration of the economy due to industrial

stagnation, political upheavals, a steadily-growing population due to perpetual

inflow of migrants from rural areas, poor administrative set up and limited

infrastructure to accommodate the burgeoning population (Nambissan 2003:

12).

The core city of Kolkata is bound by the Hooghly river on the west, the

Salt Lakes on the east and marshes and swamps towards the south. The Calcutta

Municipal Corporation spreads over an area of 187.33 sq km. The metropolitan

area of about 800 sq kms extends along both sides of the river Hooghly from

Bandel I Kalyani in the north to Budge Budge in the south and from Howrah in

the west to Bidhan Nagar in the east. This urban agglomeration is home to a

population of around 10 million and has three municipal corporations (Calcutta,

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Howrah, Chandannagore), 35 municipalities and several villages

(www.kolkatabeckons.com). One of the largest metropolises of the world,

Kolkata has a population of over 13 million (200 1 census), of which almost 48

per cent are migrants and slum-dwellers. In addition, there are pavement

dwellers who were estimated to be around 55,000 persons in 1987 (J agannathan

and Haldar 1988: 2602). Therefore, it can be inferred that around half of the

city's population comprise of poor people living in abject conditions of poverty.

The overall literacy rate in Kolkata is 81.3 per cent, which is higher

than the overall state literacy rate of 69.22 per cent (2001 census). However, the

progress of primary schooling appears to be considerably slow in the city (with

the attendance rates of children of 6-10 years of age having barely improved in

comparison to that of children of 11-14 years) in comparison to the rest of the

state, where a significantly larger proportion of younger children have entered

school (Nambissan 2003: 13). The propmiion of out-of-school children as

calculated by the State Resource Group for Urban Deprived Children in 1999,

as part of DPEP interventions in Kolkata, was 26 per cent of the children in the

5-9 group and 29 per cent in the 11-14 years group. These include children of

slum and pavement dwellers, children of migrant labourers, child labour and

children of sex-workers. In all, a total of 44, 600 children aged between 5-9

years were out of school (Cyril 1999).

The figures for the number of primary schools in Kolkata are not

absolute, because different official sources provide different statistics-for

instance, in the year 2000 there were 1, 435 primary schools in Kolkata

according to the Department of School Education of West Bengal, and 1, 608

schools according to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the

District Primary School Council (DPSC) for Kolkata. However, the confusion

regarding number of schools notwithstanding, Nambissan (2003) in her study of

schooling in Kolkata has outlined the types of primary schools available in

Kolkata. The independent primary schools (from classes I-IV), are either under

the administration of the CMC or the DPSC, that is, government bodies, or by

other local bodies like community clubs etc. (Basu 1996). Apart from these,

there are primary schools that are attached to secondary or higher secondary

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schools, tenned as 'composite schools' by Nambissan which, as per her

research, account for more than a quarter of Kolkata's primary schools (2003:

14), and which are managed by private management bodies (of these again there

are those that receive grants from the government and those that are fully

private). Besides these, there are certain 'English medium' schools of private

management that do not fall under the purview of the norms and regulations and

are not recognised by the government. In addition to there are non-formal,

alternative schools run by NGOs (including the Shishu Shiksha Kendras or

SSKs run by the CMC) for children who are not enrolled in regular primary

schools.

The enrolment of children in CMC and DPSC schools (from classes I­

IV) in 1999 were around L9 lakh (West Bengal 2000), among whom, 49 per

cent of the DPSC school students and 53 per cent of the CMC students were

girls. However, gender difference was evident among the enrolled Scheduled

Caste children where 60 per cent of the total enrolled SC students were boys

and 40 per cent were girls (Nambissan 2003: 17). The student dropout rate is the

highest in cases of transition from primary to upper primary schools, that is in

or before class IV. This is due to lack of adequate number of upper primary

schools-a problem that is most persistent in Kolkata (and, in West Bengal)

with upper primary and higher levels of schooling not being available to the

majority of children (Narula and Majumdar 2001, Nambissan 2003). Children

studying in independent primary schools, therefore, tend to leave school before

class IV in order to seek admission in 'composite' schools. It was noted by the

researcher during her fieldwork that though primary schooling in the 'composite

schools' is free (following the state norms), upper-primary education is not, and

considerable amount of fees in the form of tuition fees, sports fees or science

fees are charged from students, most of whom cannot afford it. Nambissan also

states that for several economically disadvantaged children, access to education

just stops after class IV due to the fact that their families do not have the

financial resources to continue with their child's education in private, fee­

charging composite schools (2003: 19)

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/

With the already inadequate physical facilities of primary schooling in

West Bengal, it is evident that there is lack of proper infrastructure in the

schools of Kolkata. Though the schooling situation is relatively better in

Kolkata since it is an urban region, the facilities are still not enough for all the

population within the 5-9 age group. The All India Education Survey in 1999

showed 69.2 per cent of the primary schools lack a concrete building and 27.3

per cent of schools had two or fewer rooms for instructional purposes. In case

of the CMC and the DPSC schools studied by Nambissan, several were poorly

maintained in unhygienic situations. Children were often made to sit on the

floors of overcrowded classrooms. Even basic amenities like safe drinking

water were not available in several of the schools. School authorities were not

capable of immediately addressing these infrastructural problems due to limited

financial resources made available to them from the state government (2003:

21-22).

With an officially prescribed pupil-teacher ratio of 40: 1, the pupil­

teacher ratio in the schools of Kolkata vary from 21: 1 to 100: 1, with some

educational circles having significantly greater population of children · in

comparison to others (Nambissan 2003: 28). However, despite the presence of

formally qualified teachers in the schools, the quality of teaching-learning in

schools is said to be affected by factors like irregular attendance of teachers,

indifferent manner of imparting education and also, discrimination by higher

class teachers towards children of slum and pavement dwellers (West Bengal

1992: 45). NGOs and voluntary organisations working for the education of the

deprived urban children in Kolkata cite lack of sensitivity towards the needs of

students and lack of accountability as reasons for poor quality of teaching.

Related factors like lack of a proper monitoring and inspection mechanism also

result in the indifferent manner of teaching (West Bengal 1992: 43).

Conclusion

It is evident that though considerable importance has been attached to

primary education in the state of West Bengal and the capital city, Kolkata,

there is still a lot to be achieved in terms of universal and quality education (in

terms of physical facilities as well as pedagogical processes) to all children

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within the 5-9 age group for quality schooling. Efforts towards improving

access and quality are being made by the state government, but there are still a

large amount of rural and caste-based disparities. A significant proportion of the

children are still out-of school and even for those children who are in school,

the quality of education received needs to be improved. This is true especially

for the poor, marginalised and deprived sections of the children, and also for

children of sex-workers who are deprived of several opportunities in life. A

systematised and well-monitored system of implementation, proper allocation

of finances and accountability of the government towards the students, the

parents and the communities are required in order to ensure universal access,

quality and retention within primary education.

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