Funds crunch, lack of teachers' training affect Bengal's govt-run schools: Report
Kolkata, July 11 :Shortage of funds, lack of teachers' training, feeble academic planning and inadequate functioning are the key challenges faced by the primary education system in West Bengal, says a report of the Pratichi Institute associated with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
The report points out that while a few state-run primary schools have made a significant progress in terms of pupil-teacher ratio (PTR), many schools continue to lack funds and required efforts.
"According to 2015-16 data, the average PTR in Bengal's primary schools is much favourable -- 23 to one -- as compared to 49 to one a decade ago. But some schools still have an unacceptably high PTR of 40 to one. An irrational distribution of existing teachers makes the situation more complex," says the report.
The fund shortage, the report says, averages Rs 69,000 per school per year. The deficit includes day-to-day expenses (Rs 33,000), as well as additional instructors and equipment needed for extra-curricular activities.
"There have been important improvements in the implementation of mid-day meal programme in the state. However, a decent meal would require Rs 7.14 per child per day while the current allocation is Rs 4.13," the report says.
It points to a survey that says the deficit in mid-day meal fund is currently met by teachers and other staff members. But the report stresses that such an urgent issue cannot be left to "voluntary generosity".
The report says four percent of the schools are still being run by just one teacher. Highlighting the lack of proper curriculum in schools as another problem, the report says the schools that have performed well, show proper implementation of "continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE)."
It stresses improvement in quality of teaching, syllabus and textbooks and augmenting financial resources for the state-run primary education system.
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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
