West Bengal’s reputation has been tarred again. A Central government study on educational standards finds Bengal lagging behind most other states in the country and even overtaken by some Bimaru states in guaranteeing education for its children. This is no sudden news. Even before the same study had rung warning bells last year, studies conducted by the Pratichi Trust in 2002 had sounded out the state government on its dysfunctional primary schools and their failure to satisfy the increasing demand for education among the poor, whose interests the decades-old Left Front government, till recently, vouched to uphold. The state government’s indifference to education is not unique. It characterizes all major aspects of governance. Bengal’s abysmal record in women and child welfare and health has much to do with this attitude. So has its knee-jerk response to the avian flu, which now threatens to engulf the entire state.

However, it is also important to make certain clarifications. Accessibility to schools, improved infrastructure and regular attendance do not necessarily mean that children are being educated. The annual status of educational report, 2007, conducted by Pratham, reveals that a sizeable section of the school-going six- to fourteen-year-olds can neither work out simple sums nor read with the desired ability. This indicates the enormous gap that exists between access to education and actual learning. Again, the fact that Bengal, despite its drawbacks, could gain a place among the top performers in a stringent test of mathematics and language facility undertaken by the National Council for Educational Research and Training mainly in rural areas shows how difficult it is to quantify educational standards. Bengal, together with the other states, can lay claim to some positive changes for the furtherance of primary education. The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, the mid-day meal schemes and the growing awareness among parents about the importance of education have made major differences to the education scenario in the country. But for children to gain knowledge it is not enough to see that they have schools and a roof over them. A constructive relationship has to be established among teachers, pupils and their parents. And for primary education to really take off in Bengal, it is important for the government to stop having vested interests in it.