School education infrastructure receives a boost in Bangla

Posted on March 16, 2019 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

The school education infrastructure in Bangla has undergone unprecedented development over the last seven-and-a-half years due to the untiring efforts of the Trinamool Congress-led State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The government’s initiatives have helped Bangla achieve its goals in the education sector.

Instances of Bangla’s success in the education sector:

Ninefold increase in expenditure on education, from Rs 829 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 7,500 crore in 2018-19

Rs 200 crore spent on constructing dining halls in about 5,000 schools in 2018-19

7000 primary and upper primary schools established

2,700 schools upgraded

Over 2 lakh additional classrooms constructed

4,500 schools got laboratories

4,000 schools got libraries

Rs 130 crore grant for furniture across schools

65 English-medium schools started in 2019

Majority of the expenditure for mid-day meal kitchens, LPG connections and fire extinguishers in schools borne by State Government

259 Santhali-medium primary schools functioning in 10 districts and 49 Santali-medium high schools functioning in 8 districts

About 10,000 schools conduct advanced courses in modern technology

School Education Department honoured with CSI Nihilent e-Governance (CNeG) Award (December 2018)

Rs 341 crore grant for infrastructural renovation of 1,037 higher secondary and 251 secondary schools

Special focus on laboratories, libraries and extra classrooms for all government-run schools

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State Govt encourages adoption of digital infrastructure in schools

Posted on November 30, 2017 | by aitc | Leave a Comment

In the changing technology-driven times, it is imperative to focus on building schools which can adapt to the change in teaching methods. The Bengal Government has realised this and so is helping schools adopt digital technology in a major way.

According to a senior official of the School Education Department at a recent seminar, the State Government believes that technology should have a greater presence in future schools.

Towards that end, the government has developed 4,000 e-classrooms in 2,000 secondary schools. Under the government’s ICT (information and communication technology) programme, 3,915 secondary schools have been provided with 39,300 computers in the last five years.

Also, the State Government is asking its schools to lay more emphasis on multi-disciplinary learning. The system should involve, along with studies, sports, art and extra-curricular activities.

Source: Asian Age

রাজ্যের স্কুলগুলিতে ডিজিটাল পরিকাঠামোতে উৎসাহ সরকারের

আজকের এই ডিজিটাল যুগের সাথে তাল মিলিয়ে পাল্টাচ্ছে শিক্ষাদানের পদ্ধতিও। চিরাচরিত পঠনপাঠনের মাধ্যমের বাইরে গিয়ে এবার রাজ্যের স্কুলগুলিতে ডিজিটাল পরিকাঠামো আরও উন্নত করতে উদ্যোগী সরকার।

সদ্য-অনুষ্ঠিত এক সেমিনারে স্কুল শিক্ষা দপ্তরের এক আধিকারিক বলেন, রাজ্য সরকার চায় ভবিষ্যতের স্কুলগুলিতে আরও বেশী করে ডিজিটাল প্রযুক্তি ব্যবহৃত হোক।

রাজ্য সরকার ইতিমধ্যেই ২০০০টি মাধ্যমিক স্কুলে ৪০০০টি ই-ক্লাসরুম তৈরি করেছে। গত পাঁচ বছরে রাজ্য সরকারের আইসিটি কর্মসূচীর অধীনে ৩৯১৫টি স্কুলে ৩৯৩০০টি কম্পিউটার প্রদান করা হয়েছে।

Teachers and students will take Bengal forward: WB CM at Shiksha Ratna ceremony

Posted on September 4, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that teachers, students and youths will steer Bengal on the path of progress in future.

She was speaking at the Shaiksha Ratna award ceremony where felicitated one hundred teachers from across the state and awarded 42 schools.

The government launched the Shiksha Ratna awards for school teachers in 2013.

Speaking on the occasion, WB CM said, “Mothers give birth. Teachers instill values and education. Teachers take lessons from the past, educate the present and shape the future.”

She reiterated that her government was committed to developing Bengal as an educational hub. “14 new universities and 45 new colleges have been set up in Bengal in the last four years. 67 model schools have been set up, several schools upgraded,” she said.

“We started Kanyashree scheme for empowerment of girls. 27 girls have been registered. We are proud of them,” WB CM added.

Highlighting that Bengal has 100% coverage of mid-day meals in schools, she said, “Till 2011 there were only 1300 medical seats in Bengal. We added 1400 new seats in four years.”

The Chief Minister also talked about the success of Bengal in Nirmal Bharat scheme and Swachh Vidyalaya initiative.

Mamata Banerjee had earlier tweeted:

On the eve of Teachers’ Day today, our government will honour teachers from across the State with #ShikshaRatna awards

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 4, 2015

West Bengal Government completes 1500 days in office

Posted on June 24, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The Maa, Mati, Manush Government led by Ms Mamata Banerjee completes 1500 days in office today.

In the last four years, Bengal has reclaimed her position as the best among states in several sectors and has become a model for others to emulate.

Governance for all

The government of West Bengal sincerely believes in inclusive governance. WB CM has been working relentlessly working for people of all castes, religions, genders, communities and creed.

When Trinamool Congress led government came to power in Bengal, it had inherited a huge debt amounting to almost Rs 2 lakh crore. Despite the debt burden, governance has not slowed down in the state.

Achievements of the government

Finance and Industry

MSME Sector

Business Made Easy in Bengal

Environment Conservation

Housing for all

School Education

Higher Education

Women and Child Development

International Recognition

Bengal taking steps to improve the quality of mid-day meals for school students

Posted on June 9, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

The West Bengal Government is taking steps to improve the quality of Mid-Day Meal (MDM) provided to the school students.

Replying to a debate in support of the budgetary grant for his department, state’s School Education Minister Dr Partha Chatterjee said the Government was taking steps to check the quality of rice used by engaging officials of the food and supplies department.

Once the food was cooked, it would be tasted and checked by the cook and a teacher after which it will be offered to the students, he said, adding the chefs will also be trained in cooking and hygiene.

Dr Chatterjee said his department was setting up 969 dining halls at a cost of Rs 29 crore for students across the state. The utensils in which the food was served and cooked will also be changed for which a proposal has been sent to the Finance ministry for approval of funds.

Incidentally, in 2014, West Bengal secured 3rd rank among the states in implementing the midday meal scheme in schools across the state.

97% of the students enrolled in various schools in West Bengal are the beneficiaries of the scheme, a Central government report revealed, which comes to a whooping 1,22,98,419 students in all. According to a similar survey done in 2010-11, West Bengal was at the 12th position.

Bengal achieves success in school education

Posted on June 5, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

What the Trinamool Government understood pretty early is that one of the primary ways to improve the state of school education (in state government schools) is to majorly improve the intake of qualified teachers. This, of course, implies the fact that the expenditure also had to increase; and which the Government has done, proving its intent to produce better citizens from the State.

The Left Front Government left education in the doldrums

That the state of education during the Left Front rule had gone down, there is no doubt. Numbers prove it. In 1981, the rank of West Bengal, according to the state of education, was below 16 other States. In 2011, after 30 years, West Bengal came in after 19 other states. Hence, after 30 years, the State had gone down instead of improving.

Secondly, according to the 1981 census, the percentage of educated people in the State was 5% higher that of the all-India average. According to the 2001 census, this gap had narrowed down considerably, to 3%.

Thirdly, according to a 1993 report, the percentage of students who left school after primary school was 36%, compared to the all-India average of 35%; therefore, a negligible difference. After 12 years, in 2005, the percentage for West Bengal did come down to 24%, but the all-India average came down to a very encouraging 15%; therefore, the difference widened from a mere 1% to 9%. Many economically weaker states, including the so-called BIMARU states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, have overtaken West Bengal in this respect.

School infrastructure

Though it is not possible to turn around the deplorable situation that the State finds itself in so quickly, even in this short span of time, the Trinamool Government has managed to bring about a positive change in the situation.

Among its activities have been building new schools, adding classrooms to existing schools, recruiting a large number of teachers, building toilets, both for boys and girls, giving grants for setting up computer systems and improving libraries, etc.

The Left Front Government, during its last three years in power, from financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11, had an expenditure of Rs 2,503,53,00,000 on school education, or Rs 834 crore per year on an average; whereas the Trinamool Government, during its first three years, spent Rs 8,096,88,00,000, or Rs 2699 crore per year on an average, which is 223%, or 3.23 times, more.

Hence, naturally, the scenario of education in government schools has improved tremendously. During its last three years, the Left Front Government constructed only 184 primary schools whereas the Trinamool Government, during its first three years, constructed 362 primary schools.

The comparative data on school education is detailed below:

Plan expenditure: Rs 2,503.53 crore (last three years of Left Front), against Rs 8,096.88 crore (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 223% or 3.23 times
New primary schools: 184 (last three years of Left Front), against 362 (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 97% or 1.97 times
New higher primary schools: 497 (last three years of Left Front), against 2454 (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 394% or 4.94 times
English-medium model schools: 12 (first three years of Trinamool; this was introduced by the new Government)
Upgrading Madhyamik schools to Higher Secondary: 502 (last three years of Left Front), against 1397 (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 178% or 2.78 times
Mid-day meals in primary schools: 86.84% schools (last three years of Left Front), against 92.24% schools (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 5.4%
Mid-day meals in higher primary schools: 58.81% schools (last three years of Left Front), against 87.4% schools (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 28.59%
Construction of general toilets: 89.79% schools (last three years of Left Front), against 96.52% (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 6.73%
Construction of toilets for girl students: 58.1% (last three years of Left Front), against 80.24% (first three years of Trinamool) – an increase of 22.15%
Compared to the last three years of the Left Front, the first three years of Trinamool have seen a 5.4% increase in enrolment in primary schools

Other achievements

As of March 31, 2014, 40,113 classrooms have been constructed
Rs 50,000 as library grant has been given to each of 1,107 schools upgraded from Madhyamik to Higher Secondary
Rs 2 lakh as laboratory grant has been given to each of 3,717 schools upgraded from Madhyamik to Higher Secondary
To make students more IT-savvy, computers and related equipment have been provided to 2600 Madhyamik and Higher Secondary schools, under the Government’s ICT scheme
74,650 primary school teachers have been enabled help in completing the Diploma in Elementary Education (D El Ed) course
27,894 teachers have been enabled help in completing Bachelor in Education (B Ed) course through distance learning mode

Human resource in education

In terms of human resource too, the Trinamool Government has achieved quite a lot during its short time in power. Among the achievements are the following:

Appointing almost 50,000 teachers in primary and Madhyamik schools
1.094 para-teachers for Santhali language have been appointed in the districts of West Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia

Thus, there is no doubt that despite the financial constraints (huge inherited debt from the Left Front Government), during its first three years in power, the Trinamool Government, in the sector of school education, has achieved things which are comparable to those achieved in the almost last 10 years of the Left Front Government.

Social sector development: Bengal shows the way

Posted on May 20, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Health Care, Education and Skill Development are core sectors where West Bengal made rapid progress in the last three years. The State, under the new Government had to revive and restructure the total infrastructure which had become almost non-existent. With continued efforts, the State made rapid progress by rebuilding the existing projects and creating newer avenues.

Health, Education, Skill development are also the focus areas for the Bengal Global Summit 2014, here is what the Government achieved in the last 3 years.

Health & Family Welfare

• Due to our initiatives, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has decreased from 145 (2007-09) to 117 (2012) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) from 32 (2012) to 31 (2013).

• From only 6 operational Sick Newborn Care Units(SNCU) up to May 2011, 43 SNCUs have been made operational up to October 2014 and 16 more new SNCUs are also coming up. 285 Sick New Born Stabilization Unit (SNSU) are operational and 23 more such facilities are coming up. All 561 functional health units now have a New Born Care Corners (NBCC) and 100 more NBCC are being set up in phased manner. 25 Neonatal Units will be operational during 2014-15. NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) are functional in 9 and10 Medical Colleges, respectively.

• Paediatric Nephrology Unit is being set up in Medical College Hospitals and Paediatric Cardiology is being set up in 4 Medical Colleges.

• 140 Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Care (CEmOC) facilities to manage obstetric complications and 531 Basic Emergency Obstetric Care (BEmOC) facilities will be made operational during 2014-15.

• Out of proposed 12 Mother and Child Hubs (MCH), 7 will be completed within 2014-15 and rest in 2015-16.

• The construction of 40 Super-speciality hospitals is expected to be completed during 2015-16.

• Out of 41 Critical Care Units (CCU), 20 are already functional and the rest 21 will be made operational within 2015-16. Construction of 5 Trauma care units (TCU) has been completed and construction of another 8 TCU and 9 Burn units (3 in Medical Colleges & 6 in District hospitals) is being taken up.

• 95 Fair Price Medicine Shops are functional and another 21 will shortly be made operational. During 2014-15, out of the gross sale value of Rs. 544 crores, the patients availed discounts of Rs. 364 crores.

• Fair Price Diagnostic Imaging Facilities and Dialysis Services under PPP has been established in 22 hospitals and another 26 hospitals will be covered by August, 2015.

• The drugs & equipments budget has increased from Rs. 80 (eighty) crore in 2010-11 to present Rs.403 crore.

• User charges for all investigations, medicine and beds have been waived in secondary hospitals.

• To cope with the shortage of Specialists, DNB (Diploma of National Board) courses have been opened in 6 (six) District Hospitals with addition of 60 (sixty) seats. DNB courses have also been planned in another 4 (four) District Hospitals. From 50,380 Beds in 2011, the Bed strength has increased to 74,507. 180 non-bedded PHC were upgraded to 10 bedded PHC, 144 BPHCs were upgraded to Rural Hospitals. 8 New health districts and 8 New District Hospitals have been created.

• As against allocation of Rs.2,211.06 crore in 2014-15, allocation of Rs.2,588.90 crore has been proposed for Health in 2015-16

Education

School Education Department

• During 2014-15, 155 new primary schools and 350 upper primary schools have been constructed. 584 New Primary Schools along with 1,319 New Upper Primary Schools are under construction. 206 schools have been upgraded from High to Higher Secondary and 104 Junior High Schools to High School.

• 11,430 schools were provided with two additional class rooms. Additional class rooms in another 14,175 schools are under construction. Classes will commence in 44 Model schools during the next academic year.

• 33,628 primary schools are being provided with electric connection.

• 99.36% students of primary schools (77, 76,133) and 98.18% students of upper primary schools (46,90,463) have been covered under mid-day meal programme. ‘Nirmal Vidyalaya Abhiyan’ has been taken up in elementary and secondary schools. Till now, more than 98% of the schools have been provided with toilet facilities.

• 1,151 para-teachers have been recruited to teach Santhali medium in primary schools in Jangal Mahal.

• In the 11 backward districts, construction of 105 Girls’ hostels, 401 integrated school buildings with hostels and 11 PTTIs has been taken up. Seventy one 50-bedded Girls’ hostels and 4 new school buildings have been completed.

• 218 new primary and 373 upper primary schools have been sanctioned and the construction work has been started.

• 25,309 bicycles have been distributed to Girl students of Bankura, Purulia and Paschim Medinipur districts.

• As against allocation of Rs.6, 884.50 crore in 2014-15, the new proposed allocatation is Rs.8,055.00 crore in 2015-16..

Higher Education Department

• The new universities at Panchanan Barma University at Coochbehar and Kazi Nazrul University at Asansol and Diamond Harbour Women’s University and Bankura University have started functioning in 2013-14 and 2014- 15 respectively. Two other new State aided universities, namely, the West Bengal University for Teacher Training, Education, Planning and Administration and Raiganj University will commence in next academic session. With this, the new State aided universities has gone up to six.

• The West Bengal Government is encouraging setting up of private universities. The Techno India University in North 24 Parganas and the Seacom Skills University in Birbhum have started and another five new private universities the Neotia University, JIS University, the University of Engineering & Management, Adamas University in North 24 Parganas and AMITY University will start in 2015-16.

• 45 new colleges are coming up in the State. New colleges at Salboni, Lalgarh, Nayagram and Jhargram in Jangalmahal, State’s first Hindi medium college at Banarhat, Jalpaiguri, New Town, Singur and Gaighata have already started. Another 15 Government Degree Colleges in un-served and under-served areas will start by August 2015. New Government Engineering Colleges are under construction at Coochbehar and Purulia.

• Due to these initiatives of the State Government, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) has gone up from 12.80 in 2011-12 to 17.60 currently.

• A large number of posts in the teaching and nonteaching category have been created in the newly established universities and colleges.

• One of the remarkable achievements has been the reservation for OBC students in higher education under the West Bengal State Higher Educational Institution (Reservation & Admission) Act, 2013. 59,612 OBC category A & B students were admitted in the academic session of 2014 – 15, accounting for 10.60% of the total number of students admitted.

• As against allocation of Rs.342.95 crore in 2014-15, the proposed to allocation is Rs.391.00 crore to this department in 2015-16.

Technical Education and Training

• The State, in order to enhance the employment opportunities through skill development of the youth, has taken up an ambitious programme of setting up one Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in every Block of the State and one Polytechnic in every Sub-division.

• This Government in just three years has operationalized 43 new ITIs and additional 92 ITIs will come up this year. In order to use the expertise of private sector in skill development training, plan to set up 1000 ITIs in the Public Private Partnership has been taken in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation.

• 34 polytechnics have already been set up and 32 more Polytechnics are under construction.

• Apex Chambers like FICCI, BCCI and reputed industrial players like Samsung, Raymonds etc are importing skill training.

• The State has received the highest award in the All India Skill Competition two times in a row in 2013 and 2014.

• As against allocation of Rs.549.00 crore in 2014-15, allocation of Rs.647.00 crore has been made to this department in 2015-16.

Skill Development

• The state obtained first place for the first time in All India Skill Contest 2013.

• Under the leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, West Bengal Skill Development Mission has been formed to develop technical and job-oriented skills.

• To ensure development of technical skills, the West Bengal State Council of Technical and Vocational Education and Skill Development Act, 2013 has been passed.

• One new ITI will be established in each block of the state. 38 new ITIs have already been established and seats have been increased by 3700. Apart from this, 88 new government ITIs are being established.

• As a result of Paschimbanga Swanirbhar Shahayak Prakalpo, nearly total 1 lakh 47 thousand nos. of groups have been benefited and subsidy of over 24 crore given in a scheme for reducing loans of the self-help groups

• Number of beneficiaries under the Swami Vivekananda Swanirbhar Karmasansthan Prokalpo, over the last two and half years is almost 78 thousand. Total outlay of project Rs. 1,715 crore Govt. grant Rs. 396 crore and employment generated in this project is for 2,93,827 people.

• Rs 8.12 crore has been spent to train producers of self-employment projects with the objective to develop the standard of their items. Through 91 special training camps, 2660 local unemployed youth have been given training in different fields with the objective to make the people of Jangalmahal self-sufficient through increase in their earnings.

• The work for construction of Training and Marketing Centre for the development of rural infrastructure at Nilgunj, Minakhan, Dhamakhali of 24 Pgs (N), Durgapur, Khandaghosh and Madhabdihi of Burdwan has been completed. Beside, work for construction of Training and Marketing Centres at New Town, Rajarhat of Kolkata, Ruipukur of Nadia, Phuljhor of Burdwan and the office of the District Collector of Paschim Medinipur is going on.

• Construction of hostels for girl students is going on in 25 polytechnic colleges. Various MOUs have been signed with Raymond, Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industries, ILFS, FUCCU, ASSOCHAM, Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC) and others which will train more than 1 lakh people on various sectors.

• Training under Skill Development Initiative Scheme (Modular Employable Skills): An additional 1,05,000 people have been trained since 2011 under Skill Development Initiative Scheme. Training of 13,500 people has been initiated in backward areas including blocks in the border areas.