A government-aided primary school in Garia on the city’s southern tip that was losing students because of poor infrastructure has been renovated and equipped with smart desks, projector-based classrooms and computers so it can attract and retain pupils.
Subhas Pally Netaji Udbashtu Prathamik Vidyalaya was struggling with worn-out walls with chunks of concrete coming off and broken benches in untidy classrooms till a few months ago.
A classroom in Subhas Pally Netaji Udbashtu Prathamik Vidyalaya early this year
All these were among factors that triggered a high drop-out rate, an education department official said.
The Kolkata district primary school council joined hands with the local councillor to give the school a new life.
The council chairman said they had plans to start an English-medium unit in the school in Ward 111 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
State power minister Aroop Biswas, MLA from the Tollygunge Assembly constituency, inaugurated the new-look school on Friday.
Primary schools failing to attract students because of sub-standard infrastructure is a problem that dates back to the tenure of the Left Front government.
The dropout rate could become worse if the state government implements a tentative plan to close down thousands of primary (pre-primary to Class IV or V) and upper primary schools (from Class V or VI to Class VIII) that have less than 30 students each, following a directive from the National Education Mission.
The National Education Policy 2020 seeks to optimise resources by closing down such schools and sending children to other schools closeby and teachers to institutions that need them.
State education minister Bratya Basu has said no school will be shut down, but a section of education department officials fears central directives could at some point force the state’s hand.
The fact that 4 lakh fewer students wrote the state secondary exams, Madhyamik, this year also reveals how government-aided schools are losing students. This year, 6,98,628 candidates wrote the Class X board exams. Last year, the figure was 10,98,775, secondary board president Ramanuj Ganguly said on February 9.
Against such a grim situation, the effort to inaugurate a school after renovation in Subhash Pally, Garia, stands out because it seeks to arrest the slide. “We have overhauled the infrastructure and we hope this will help us retain students and attract newer ones. We have plans to start an English-medium unit,” said Kartik Manna, chairman of the district primary school council. Subir Dey, whose daughter is in Class II of the school that was started in 1974, said renovation of infrastructure encouraged a parent to keep their child in the school.
Headmistress Rita Das said the student strength came down as many dropped out during the Covid-induced lockdown to help their families by doing odd jobs. “They have not returned,” she said.
The school has three other teachers. Councillor Sandip Das said they crowdfunded the renovation.
