Failure of education policies in West Bengal, since 1951: An analysis

Abstract

West Bengal, in 1951, was ranked second in the country, with a literacy level of 24.0 per cent, though far behind Kerala with a literacy level of 47.18 per cent. From the very beginning there was an elitist bias in educational planning, so that primary education was badly neglected, and so subsequently West Bengal began to slide in relation to states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram or Goa. Unfortunately, the elitist bias also persisted during the Left Front rule. As a result, by the time of Census 2011, the literacy level of West Bengal had slid down so far that it was barely above the national average. At the same time, the small state of Tripura, also ruled by a Left Front government, coming up from far behind had caught up with and then had overtaken West Bengal, and was only a little behind Kerala, the most literate state in India. Although this article is supposed to be an account of the state of education in West Bengal since independence it concentrates essentially on the primary school sector, because that is the foundation of all further education. It refers to the Bhabatosh Datta Commission on higher education whose recommendations still remain valid and unfortunately unimplemented.