A brief note on literacy and education in West Bengal

West Bengal is relatively well placed in terms of literacy and education as compared to the other States of India. Data for 1998-99 show, however, that while enrolment at the primary level was as high as 94%, the enrolment ratio declines sharply to 51% at the middle level. By comparison, a well performing State like Himachal Pradesh shows a far more modest corresponding decline, from 92% to 84%. In both West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh, enrolment was lower for SCs and STs, as compared to the general population. As in the case of the general population, the SCs and STs of both States too exhibited the characteristic decline in enrolment between the primary and middle stages. It is a pattern that is corroborated by an independent data source for the SCs and STs of West Bengal, generated by the Council for Social Development over the course of a Planning Commission sponsored project. Overall, West Bengal has a relatively very large base of literates with a very low level of education.