Public Private Interface in the Primary Schooling System: A Study in West Bengal (2006)

This inquiry into the phenomenon of the emergence of private schools as an alternative to government sector schools in different parts of West Bengal, particularly in the urban areas, was based on research carried out in the rural and urban settlements of Bolpur-Sriniketan, Dubrajpur and Nalhati I blocks of Birbhum district. The main findings with regard to patterns of schooling at the primary level in the studied rural and urban areas (including the extent of private schooling), differences in identities of populations opting for different kinds of primary schools, differences between the different kinds of primary schools (in terms of infrastructure, student-teacher ratio, attendance, quality of teaching and learning, governance, etc.), reasons behind choosing of particular kinds of primary schools and the general perceptions of people regarding private schooling seem to have considerable policy relevance even now.