Overview
The Samagra Shiksha scheme in West Bengal has suffered from a high dropout rate, severe teacher shortage and poor utilisation of central funds, according to a performance audit by the CAG. The audit covered the period 2019‑20 to 2023‑24.
Key Developments
- Transition loss of 28‑42% of students moving from upper‑primary to higher‑secondary levels.
- Survey of 581 out‑of‑school children in 21 high schools identified financial distress (53%), early marriage (12%) and migration for work (13%) as main reasons.
- More than 500 schools operated with only one teacher; 520 schools had no teacher at all.
- About 8% of schools (5,152) ran with a single teacher, affecting 1,76,491 students.
- Violations of RTE norms: 40,530 head teachers posted in schools with fewer than 150 pupils.
- PTR gaps: 29% of primary and 30% of upper‑primary schools fell short of minimum PTR norms, while 79% of higher‑secondary schools exceeded the prescribed limits.
- State’s scheme fund utilisation ranged only between 46% and 65% over five years, leading to a loss of ₹2,428 crore in central funding and surrender of ₹395 crore for infrastructure.
Important Facts
The audit highlighted that delays in fund release by both centre and state, and non‑execution of sanctioned civil works, crippled the scheme’s impact. The state’s reply in August 2025 blamed student earnings and migration after secondary school, but the CAG stressed that the dropout/transition loss remained significant and called for corrective action.
Exam Relevance
- Understanding the challenges of implementing centrally sponsored schemes (GS2: Polity, GS3: Economy).
- Analyzing the impact of teacher shortages on education quality and constitutional guarantees (RTE) (GS2).
- Evaluating public finance management, fund utilisation and audit findings (GS3).
- Linking socio‑economic factors such as poverty and early marriage to educational outcomes (GS1: Society, GS2).
Way Forward
The CAG recommends community awareness drives, counselling sessions and periodic surveys to locate out‑of‑school children and reintegrate them. Strengthening teacher recruitment, ensuring compliance with RTE norms, and improving the timeliness of fund release are essential. Effective monitoring and transparent reporting can raise utilisation rates and reduce the financial loss of billions of rupees.