Kolkata: Bengal Larger states top the chart in the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index, an indicator of literacy among children at pre-primary and primary levels. The state has secured an overall score of 58.9, which is much higher than the national average of 48.3. Kerala has topped among 11 smaller states while Lakshadweep The state has scored highest among union territories and Mizoram has scored highest among north-east states.
Report – Commissioned by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and prepared by institute for competition – Released by EAC-PM Chairman Vivek Debroy on Thursday.
CM Mamata Banerjee said on Twitter, “Great news for West Bengal! We have secured the top rank among large states on the ‘Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index’. I congratulate all the teachers, parents and members of our education department for this outstanding achievement!
The report indicates that Bengal scored heavily in providing educational infrastructure – “overperforming” in parameters such as having more schools with proper drinking water, toilets and hand-washing facilities and in moving primary schools to homes within a kilometer Has performed “within the expected range”. Providing electricity connection to primary schools.
The percentage of teachers at the primary level was good
Where Bengal has lagged behind in educational infrastructure, it is in bridging the pandemic-induced digital divide, with fewer schools having internet and computers.
The state has also performed very well in the percentage of teachers at the primary level, but has lagged behind the national average in arresting primary school dropouts, ensuring gross enrollment ratio and primary student teacher ratio.
Bengal has also achieved a score of 100 in the adjusted Net Enrollment Ratio (NER) for girls at the primary level. In fact, the state has 82.7% enrollment among boys at the primary level, while girls have a gap of 73.3%, a gap of 9.4% making it the best performer among all the major states. The all-India average is 83.2% for males, 67.1% for females.
Two other categories in which Bengal has scored 100 are infant mortality and staggering state spending on mid-day meals.
Only 17 states and four union territories have scored above the national average of 48.3. Kerala tops the list of smaller states with a score of 67.9, Lakshadweep is the top scoring union territory with 52.69 and Mizoram is the best northeastern state with a score of 51.64. Bihar and Jharkhand are the worst performers among large and small states respectively.
State sources said the Center has also appreciated the presentation by its experts on the bridge courses being designed to bridge the pandemic-induced academic gap in school education, including the primary level. The state has constituted a three-member panel to collect data on this.
The states were judged on five pillars comprising 41 indicators – educational infrastructure, access to education, basic health, learning outcomes and governance.
The EAC-PM statement said that out of the five pillars, it is observed that states have performed particularly poorly in governance. “More than 50 per cent of the states scored below the national average, i.e. 28.05, the lowest in all the pillars,” it said.
According to the statement, during the panel discussion held on the occasion, Vivek Debroy said, “Education leads to positive externalities and the quality of education provided especially during the formative years is important.”
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