DEVELOPMENT OF STATE EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE

A ) Introduction: The growing need for quality facilities in the State s education system to cater to the growing number of students emerging out of the State s secondary school system, the State Government considers it necessary to formulate a policy to provide a stable policy and institutional framework to encourage private investment in the State, with an emphasis on the guiding principles of expansion, inclusion and quality in the higher education sector. The honourable State Education Minister Sh Bratya Basu emphasizes the essence of quality in educational excellence both for public as well as private educational institutions. B ) Background: West Bengal State Council of Higher Education, Chairman, Dr Sugato Marji emphasized on quality aspect of higher education not regretting the quantity part which is equally important. Unless institutions are established in backward areas of Bengal, we cannot increase the GER in higher education which is the top priority of the state along with rapid industrialization,. The state has emphasized the urgent need to improve upon the all India ranking for the state of West Bengal vis--vis all India scenario and has unleashed all around efforts to improve upon its current ranking:Sr 1 2 3 Parameter Literacy rate GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) School dropout rate (6-14 yrs) Rank West Bengal 77.08% (all India rank : 13) 12.6% 4.6% National average 80.3% 13.8% 3.5%

The quality of education imparted also remains a function of availability of basic & adequate infrastructure, whereby the following areas requires special mention : Out-of-School Children: The percentage of out-of-school children in West Bengal remains higher than country average. Bringing out-of-school children into classes at the age appropriate level with the support to stay in school and succeed poses a major challenge. Substantial efforts are essential to eliminate disparities and ensure quality with equity. For example, investing in preschool is a key strategy. Families and communities also have a large role to play to ensure child-friendly education. Social InclusionGender ratio: Although there have been significant improvements in the proportion of children from socially disadvantaged groups in school, persistence gaps remain high. Girls are still less likely to enrol in school than boys; in 2005, for upper primary school Grades 6-8) girls enrolment was still 8.8 points lower than boys. For Scheduled Tribes (ST) the gender gap was 12.6 points and 16 points for Scheduled Castes (SC). Social inclusion--Backward Classes: ST and SC children are less likely to access their right to 8 years of schooling; the drop-out rate for ST children being 62.9% and 55.2% for SC children compared to a national average of 48.8% leaving school before completing Grade 8. Teacher-Student ratio: Creative and sustained initiatives are crucial to train more than one million new and untrained teachers within the next five years and to reinforce the skills of existing teachers to ensure child-friendly education. Children have the right to have at least 1 qualified and trained teacher for every 30 pupils. Currently, the national average is about 1 teacher to every 34 students, but in West Bengal 1 teacher works with more than 60 students. Approximately 1.2 million additional teachers need to be recruited to fill this gap. Currently, about 1 in 5 primary school teachers do not have the requisite minimum academic qualification to ensure childrens right to quality learning.

Basic Sanitation: 84 out of 100 schools have drinking water facilities overall in India. Sixty-five out of 100 schools have common toilets in India; Fifty-four out of 100 schools have separate toilets for girls.

School Management Committees, made up of parents, local authorities, teachers and children themselves, will need support to form School Development Plans and monitoring. The inclusion of 50 per cent women and parents of children from disadvantaged groups in these committees should help overcome past disparities. C ) Recent developments Few countries in the world have such a national provision to ensure child-centered, child-friendly education to help all children develop to their fullest potential. There were an estimated eight million six to 14-year-olds in India out-of-school in 2009. RTE Act, GoI, 2009 :The landmark passing of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education marks a historic moment for the children of India. For the first time in Indias history, children will be guaranteed their right to quality elementary education by the state with the help of families and communities. RTE provides a ripe platform to reach the unreached, with specific provisions for disadvantaged groups, such as child labourers, migrant children, children with special needs, or those who have a disadvantage owing to social, cultural economical, geographical, linguistic, gender or such other factor. RTE focuses on the quality of teaching and learning, which requires accelerated efforts and substantial reforms. Private Universities Act, West Bengal, 2012: Paved the way for eligible entities to set up Universities across the state of West Bengal. The state has allowed private universities which will be a real boost for the private parties to invest in good quality higher education.

The penetration of quality education system across the geography of the state is the essence creating sustainable infrastructure. Districts at West Bengal shows diverse literacy rates which invites attention for state wide allocation to achieve sustainable overall improvement. Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 District Purba Medinipur Kolkata North 24 Parganas Howrah Hooghly Darjeeling Paschim Medinipur South 24 Parganas Bardhaman Nadia Cooch Behar Dakshin Dinajpur Jalpaiguri Bankura Literacy Rate (%) 2001 Census 80.16 80.86 78.07 77.01 75.11 71.79 70.41 69.45 70.18 66.14 66.30 63.59 62.85 63.44 Literacy Rate (%) 2011 Census 87.66 87.14 84.95 83.85 82.55 79.92 79.04 78.57 77.15 75.58 75.49 73.86 73.79 70.95 % Increase 7.50 6.28 6.88 6.84 7.44 8.13 8.63 9.12 6.97 9.44 9.19 10.27 10.94 7.51

Rank 15 16 17 18 19

District Birbhum Murshidabad Purulia Maldah Uttar Dinajpur

Literacy Rate (%) 2001 Census 61.48 54.35 55.57 50.28 47.89

Literacy Rate (%) 2011 Census 70.90 67.53 65.38 62.71 60.13

% Increase 9.42 13.18 9.81 8.43 12.24

The State will need to create over 4, 00,000 new seats in under-graduate and postgraduate courses. Considering the staggering requirement of funds for achieving this goal, the State Governments efforts need to be supplemented by the private sector in creation of the required infrastructure in the education sector. Overall and all around improvement is required in all around areas towards achieving adequate penetration of quality education in the state. Overall upliftment of educational scenario may be achieved by way of inviting suitable private investment in:A. PPP : Public-Private-Partnership : May be implemented with existing state government institutions, whereby existing infrastructure can suitably be upgraded to match desired standard. At the All India level private school enrolment, for 6-14 year old students, has been rising steadily since 2006, as shown in the following:Enrolment in 2006 Enrolment in 2011 Enrolment in 2012 18.7% 25.6% 28.3% This Policy for Setting up Private institutes in West Bengal is expected to provide a stable environment and a level playing field to private players in the State. It is intended to encourage private investment in the higher education sector in a well regulated and transparent manner. The spin-off benefits of private investments are expected to have significant benefits for the States GDP in the short run; and in the long run, they will enable the State to establish itself as an educational hub, and thereby re-claim the mantle of being the countrys intellectual capital. B. Expansion by Educational Institutes : Inviting & handholding reputed educational groups to expand their presence across the state. The state of West Bengal has effectively invited large PAN India educational institutes to setup basic educational infrastructure centered mostly around the state capital, it is now envisaged that these penetration has to go up in districts as well, as with rising SDP (state domestic product) the need & requirement of quality education is increasing. D ) Key areas where WEBCON can contribute WEBCON, with its rich repertoire of knowledge and deep understanding of geography, can play a insightful role in connecting-the-dots, by handholding & guiding private sector entities to set up quality educational institutes across the state. 1. Viability study & Project Report preparation : Carrying out district specific, need based survey with viability assessment for private institutions to set up educational institutes in districts. 2. Inviting promoters : WEBCON will play the vital role of both approaching promoters (with requisite intention, ability & background) desiring to set up state wide institutes as well as engaging with existing education houses (the advantage of knowing respective education houses) and inviting them to set up district wise presence.

3. Agency appointment : Roping in required agencies and entrusting & monitoring delivery of different aspects of project execution, allowing smoother passage for the entrepreneurs to set up institutes of higher standard & brand across the state. 4. Liase with departments & institutions : As nodal agency, WEBCON will handhold private entrepreneurs to understand the entire process towards setting up respective projects. Running institutes calls in for detailed & regular engagement with different departments and nodal agencies, where WEBCON, leveraging its knowledge can play the role of a mentor. 5. Monitoring Agency : Assuming the responsibility of monitoring entire implementation cycle to monitoring the performance of the institutes at their respective steady state of operation. Executed with professional expertise, all around quality at every delivery points are thereby are ensured.