In a survey titled, “Annual State of Education Report (ASER)” conducted recently, the state of West Bengal has achieved the topmost position in terms of the decline in the rate of school dropouts. While the earlier margin was 3.3 per cent, it dropped to 1.5 per cent during 2018-2020. The report clearly suggests an increment in the standards of education and literacy rate of the state.
52,227 Families Participated in the Survey
According to the Chairman of the Syllabus Committee of West Bengal, Mr. Aveek Majumder, approximately 52,227 families of 16,974 villages in 584 districts of 26 states participated in the survey. Out of which, West Bengal emerged as the winner. In contrast to West Bengal, other states like Uttar Pradesh, Telangana etc. have relatively high rates of school dropouts.
The initiative, undertaken by the West Bengal government, under which all state-aided and government schools must provide free study material to students, has come to fruition. According to Majumdar, a total of 99.7 per cent of students were aided with study material and textbooks, which was a major reason behind the decline in the rate of school dropouts.
COVID-19 Couldn’t Impede the Momentum of Education
The state of West Bengal has made sure that, even during the dire circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, no students are at a disadvantage. From providing technical assistance to the needy to cancellation of application fees, novel initiatives undertaken by the state have shown worthy results.
The state has decided upon a fee waiver for most state-run universities (including Jadavpur University) keeping in mind the financial loss incurred by many families. Continuing the momentum of education, the state is planning on reopening the schools, colleges and other educational institutions following the guidelines laid down by the UGC and Government of India.
