March 29, 2014
1000 days at a glance: Remodeling the education sector
During the 34 years of Left Front rule, the education infrastructure in West Bengal was in doldrums. In the last two and a half years, a lot of lost ground has been reclaimed by the Trinamool Congress led West Bengal Government. Despite the paucity of funds, a lot of focus has been laid on the education sector. From setting up new universities to the upgradation of schools and colleges, the achievements in this sector have been enormous.
Here are some of the achievements by the department in the 1000 days of Ma, Mati, Manush Government:
School Education
- 7.5 Crore high quality books with the modified syllabus has been distributed to school children studying in Class V to Class VIII
- 1363 Secondary schools upgraded to Higher Secondary schools and 263 Junior schools upgraded to Secondary schools
- 22,735 primary school teachers have been newly recruited; Government plans to further recruit 27,572 secondary school teachers
- 105 hostels are being setup for girl students in 11 underdeveloped districts
- 40 residential schools and 11 Primary Teacher Training Institute are under the process of being established
- 34 Girls hostels have already been constructed: 17 in West Medinipur, 9 in Bankura and 8 in Purulia
- 40,113 classrooms have been constructed by the government recently
- About 98% schools now have lavatories with 82% of schools having separate toilets for girls
- 1107 schools which have been upgraded to Higher Secondary schools have received Rs. 50,000 as Library grant and Rs. 2,00,000 has been given to additional 3,770 schools each
- 1094 Para-Teachers for Santhali Language have recruited for West Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia
Higher Education
- 6 new universities have been established by government; Kazi Nazrul University in Asansol and Panchanan Verma University in Cooch Behar have already started functioning from July 2013
- Second Campus of North Bengal University has been established in Jalpaiguri and four new post-graduate courses have been started from August 2013
- First Women`s University in eastern part of India is in the process of being setup and will start functioning from July 2014
- Rs. 10 Crore and 10 acres of land has been given to Presidency University to establish a second campus
- 38 government colleges were setup in 66 years before this government took charge; 31 new government colleges have been established across 13 districts in 34 months by this government
- 4 new government colleges have been established Jangalmahal area which will start operating from July 2014
- Government has started giving regular monthly salaries to both part time teachers and contractual full time teachers
- Presidency University received the honour of `Institution of National Eminence` by University Grants Commission in December 2012
Technical Education
- Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjee, government has setup West Bengal skill development mission
- West Bengal stood first in All India Skill Competition
- Government is spending Rs. 30 Crore for skill development of 97,000 handloom workers through West Bengal Handloom Circuit Development Scheme 2014
- Government is planning to setup ITI in each block; 38 have started functioning and work is in progress in 88 blocks
- Government has signed an MoU with Raymonds and Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to train 6,800 tailors
- Government has signed 2 MoUs:
(a) ILFS to provide training to 5000 people in manufacturing and services sector
(b) ASSOCHAM to facilitate training of 5000 people in designer jewelry manufacturing
- 1,05,000 people have been trained under the Skill Development Initiative since 2011
- 62 centers have been established to provide CAD/CAM training
For the complete list of achievements, click here.
