Breakdown of Education System in West Bengal

The state of West Bengal’s education system is currently facing a series of significant crises. It’s ranging from a major recruitment scam to widespread delays in undergraduate admissions and the closure of primary schools. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister, is seemingly remains inactive to combat such an unprecedented turmoil.

Crisis in Recruitment: The Teachers’ Scam

The most striking recent development involved the Supreme Court of India verdict.  They have invalidated the appointments of approximately 26,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in state-run and aided schools. A bench comprising Honorable Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar deemed the entire process “vitiated and tainted.”  The observation is leading to harsh judicial remarks, including the term “Systematic frauds.” The Supreme Court largely upheld the earlier judgments of the Calcutta High Court’s Single and Division Benches. The judgement has delivered a severe blow to the School Service Commission and the West Bengal Government including the State Boards.

This ruling destroyed the final hopes of numerous candidates with legitimate appointments, marking a critical moment for the system. The cries of the jobless candidates have been widespread across the state. Though, Mamata Banerjee had called up a meeting in Netaji Indoor Stadium to solace the jobless candidates. But her intent was not very clear.

Undergraduate Admissions Stumble in Higher Education System

Turmoil has heavily affected the undergraduate admissions process. After publishing the Higher Secondary results, officials delayed the launch of the Online Admission Portal (CAP).  They also postponed the publication of the merit list afterward. The pending OBC case in the High Court and Supreme Court and the Government’s dogged determination caused further delay. Such undesired delay led to a drastic fall in application numbers and abysmally low actual enrollment in many colleges. This becomes a serious blow in the entire higher education system.

The large number of vacant seats has forced colleges to operate below capacity for the next few years. Such a fiasco will make the routine payment of the institutes.

Due to the prevailing uncertainty, many qualified candidates opted for private colleges or those outside the state. Even the top JEE rankers,  preferred NITs instead of esteemed institutions like Jadavpur University. We should never forget that Jadavpur still stands as a symbol of elegance in this jinx-ridden state of West Bengal.

This delay has caused many students to leave the state or opt for private universities, which is expensive and unaffordable for poorer families. As a result, the state government is  responsible for a kind of brain drain.

The Deliberate Contradiction 

Compounding these issues is the alarming report that approximately 6,000 primary schools have been shut down in recent years. While some schools struggle with a severe teacher shortage, others barely have any students. This is happening even though the West Bengal education system has set up many new universities and colleges. Just Look at the contradictions, but both are taking place at the same time.

The Quality of Education System in West Bengal is already on the decline mode.

The closure of primary schools raises a fundamental question about the system’s viability: If the foundation of the supply chain management, the primary level is shrinking, how will the higher levels (high schools, colleges, and universities) sustain their student intake? Education typically follows a “bottom-up” approach, where the base feeds the successive levels. The current emphasis appears to be a costly “top-heavy” approach. Despite the presence of top-notch regular officials and numerous knowledgeable and successful advisors (who are often recipients of post-retirement benefits), these crises persist.

Neither the pliant bureaucrats, nor the “Yes Sir” ministers are trying to go back the drawing board and replan and respell the entire education system problem in West Bengal.

Debate about the Education System

The overall situation sparks a serious societal debate: Is education truly a fundamental right for all, or is it increasingly becoming a privilege reserved only for the rich or the upper classes?