56 pc students in class 3 to 8 can't read Bengali textbook:

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has said that 56 per cent of the students in class 3 and 8 in the state cannot read Bengali textbooks.

In a letter to leader of opposition Manik Sarkar, Deb on Thursday said that recent data revealed the poor condition of the students during their formative years with 1,80,000 school children not able to read Bengali textbook.

"The students should have learnt to read Bengali by Class 2. Also, 70 per cent students can't do division in Mathematics which they should have learnt in Class 3," he wrote.

Deb said the BJP government is struggling with the legacy of years of "systematised and institutionalised neglect of quality education" which got reflected in the data.

 

The chief minister's letter to his predecessor comes after Sarkar hit out at Deb over reports of privatisation in management of schools and mid-day meals in some areas.

"The schools were shut due to zero enrolment. We have decided to allow a charitable trust use these assets to establish English medium schools. But neither land nor buildings have been leased out," he wrote.

The chief minister said that fees of 25 per cent of the children from the economically weaker section will be reimbursed under the Right to Education Act.

Allaying Sarkar's fears of people losing jobs due to privatisation in management of mid-may meal scheme, Deb said that they don't have any plans to terminate any of the existing cook-cum-helpers.

Hitting out at Sarkar, the chief minister said that even the students in classes 10 and 12 were struggling with the 'archaic syllabus' "which is not in tandem with the advanced syllabi in other parts of the country".

"Future of the children have been sacrificed at the altar of political ideology and posturing," he wrote.

Deb said that the examination system based on grace mark has made the students dull and deprived them of providing inputs to be ready for competitive exams.

"Having held the esteemed position of Chief Minister of Tripura for about two decades and also being leader of opposition, I expect your constructive support in improving the quality of education, he wrote to Sarkar.