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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
