High dropouts, teacher crunch and fund gaps cripple Samagra Shiksha in West Bengal: CAG report
A CAG report reveals that the Samagra Shiksha scheme in West Bengal is failing due to high dropout rates, severe teacher shortages, and poor fund utilization. The audit found that many schools operate without a single teacher, while others suffer from significant administrative imbalances in staff deployment.
Why it matters
The report highlights systemic failures in public education delivery, impacting the future of thousands of students in West Bengal.
A high dropout rate, teacher shortage and poor utilisation of central funds have affected the implementation of the Samagra Shiksha scheme in West Bengal, according to a performance audit report by the CAG.
The audit, which examined scheme execution across the state between 2019-20 and 2023-24, highlighted a massive 28 to 42% transition loss between upper primary and higher secondary levels.
The audit team conducted a field survey of 581 out-of-school kids across 21 high schools in six test-checked districts to ascertain the reasons behind the high dropout rate.
"The survey highlighted dropouts mainly due to financial constraints, early marriage and intentions of early earnings among students," the report said.
According to the findings, poverty and financial hardship emerged as the biggest driver, with 53% of surveyed parents citing financial distress for pulling their children out of school.
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