Bengal Forfeited Over Rs 10,000 Crore in Central Education Funds Due to NEP Stance: Union Minister
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asserted on Saturday that West Bengal has lost out on central grants exceeding Rs 10,000 crore because of its failure to implement the National Education Policy (NEP). Speaking at an interactive session with teachers in Kolkata, Pradhan emphasized the significant financial opportunity cost for the state.
Allegations of Deprivation and Zero-Teacher Schools
"If Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had implemented the NEP in Bengal, we could have given more than Rs 10,000 crore to the state. Bengal remained deprived," Pradhan stated. He elaborated that the state could have specifically received between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan scheme alone if it had adhered to the NEP framework.
The minister highlighted critical infrastructure and staffing issues, pointing out that nearly 4,000 schools in West Bengal operate without a single teacher. "Half of the zero-teacher schools in the country are in Bengal," he revealed. Furthermore, Pradhan contrasted national averages with state figures, noting that while approximately 70% of schools across India have internet connectivity, only 16% of schools in Bengal are equipped with internet access.
Pradhan also criticized the state government's opposition to the NEP's advocacy for education in the mother tongue, linking it to declining student numbers in Bengali-medium schools. He added that the Centre's proposal to establish a centrally sponsored Navodaya Vidyalaya in the state was stalled due to the state government's refusal to allot land.
State Government's Point-by-Point Rebuttal
West Bengal's Education Minister, Bratya Basu, issued a comprehensive rebuttal, dismissing Pradhan's claims as "baseless and concocted." Basu defended the state's approach, explaining that West Bengal adopted its own State Education Policy in 2023.
"Our policy incorporates all acceptable aspects of the NEP while retaining provisions to protect the state's interests," Basu clarified. He countered the internet connectivity statistics, asserting that 66% of schools in Bengal already have internet access, with the remainder expected to be connected by the end of the current month.
Addressing the zero-teacher schools controversy, Basu attributed the figures to technical discrepancies in the government's education portal. "The portal includes several private-aided schools where the teacher count is zero. However, due to their UDISE numbers, they are still shown. A corrected list will be published shortly," he explained.
Basu further asserted that West Bengal has met all necessary conditions to receive Samagra Shiksha funds and is proactively updating its curricula. "We are integrating advanced subjects like Artificial Intelligence and data science into our educational programs," he added, underscoring the state's commitment to modernizing education despite the policy divergence with the Centre.
