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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
50% students left out of mid-day meal, Centre seeks report from state
A sharp decline in the number of students availing the Mid-Day Meal (PM-POSHAN) in West Bengal — 10 lakh fewer students availing the scheme in 2025-26 as compared to 2023-24 – points to increasing school dropouts in the state. According to the latest minutes of the Programme Approval Board (PAB) under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN), more than 40 per cent of enrolled students did not avail of the mid-day meal in 2024-25 in 15 districts of the state, with Cooch Behar having the least coverage of 46 per cent. Expressing 'serious concern' over this trend, the Additional Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Government of India, has sought a report from the West Bengal government by June 30. The PAB noted a reduction of 4.01 lakh in students' enrolment from 2023-24 to 2024-25, and a decrease of 8.04 lakh in actual student coverage. The state's proposed enrolment for 2025-26 has dropped by another 6 lakh students. 'The PAB expressed that efforts may be made to cover all the eligible students under the (Mid-Day Meal) scheme,' the minutes of PAB read. While coverage of the PM-Poshan at the pre-primary and primary levels stood at 78 per cent and 74 per cent, respectively, it fell sharply at the upper primary level to just 58 per cent according to the minute's data. According to the data, 1,13,44,146 students were enrolled in PM-POSHAN in 2024-25. However, only 77,91,946 — about 69 per cent — received meals. The numbers were worse in districts like Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Murshidabad, Paschim Bardhaman, and North 24 Parganas districts, where less than half the enrolled students availed the meals. (See box) For 2025-26, the PAB has approved coverage for 80,16,881 students—7,25,624 in balvatika (pre-primary), 48,09,138 in primary, and 24,82,119 in upper primary classes, according to the minutes. The minutes also flagged irregularities in fund management. 'The PAB expressed concern that some schools, implementing agencies, and municipal corporations are still holding funds outside the Single Nodal Agency (SNA) accounts. The state has been advised to transfer these funds immediately and take action against officials responsible for the delays and violations of Government of India guidelines,' the minutes noted. Sources in the state School Education Department cited an increased dropout rate, especially at the upper primary level, as a key reason for the falling numbers. 'It is common practice to avail maximum funds. Sometimes the state gives increased numbers as enrolled students. But, in this case, the actual number of students is much less, which means dropout rates have increased in the state education system,' said a senior official of the state education department. He added that frequent long vacations, decreasing school days, and a widening teacher-student ratio due to unfilled vacancies have all contributed to students leaving the system. Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
Indian Express
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Mirror images of OMR sheets for teachers' exams will be preserved for 10 years,' says Bengal govt in new notif
In an apparent bid to prevent future controversies, West Bengal's School Education department has announced a series of reforms for the upcoming teacher recruitment examination. According to a notification on Thursday, scanned images of the OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheets will be preserved for ten years, and a duplicate copy of the OMR sheet will be retained by each candidate. The notification states, 'The scanned images of the OMR sheets shall be preserved for ten years from the date of expiry of the panel. The (physical) OMR sheets of the written examinations shall be destroyed by the Commission after two years from the date of the panel's expiry.' These reforms follow a Supreme Court ruling on April 3 that upheld a Calcutta High Court order canceling the entire panel from the School Level Selection Test (SLST) of 2016, calling it 'tainted' — thus annulling 25,753 jobs. The Court, however, directed the state government to allow age relaxation for candidates previously listed in the panel, enabling them to appear in the upcoming examination. The ruling had led to widespread protests by teachers who had been sacked in West Bengal, and one notable demand they had was the release of the mirror images of their OMR sheets from their 2016 examination in order to determine who was 'tainted'. Reflecting the Court's ruling, the notification notes, 'Minimum age is 21 years and maximum is 40 years as of January 1 of the advertisement year. The upper age limit is relaxable as per state government norms for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBC, and physically handicapped candidates.' To enhance transparency, the West Bengal Central School Service Commission (WBCSSC) said it will publish preliminary model answer keys on its official website after the written test. Candidates may submit objections or suggestions within five days of publication, supported by at least two credible academic sources. The notification further states, 'The final model answer key, determined by an expert committee, will be uploaded on the Commission's website. The evaluation of OMR sheets will be based on this final key.' Candidates may also view their own OMR sheet images online for a fee specified by the Commission. Finally, the notification clarifies, 'There shall be no counselling after the expiry of the (expert committee) and the waiting list.' Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More
