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Swings and slides to attract students on paper. No space on ground.
The measure to install swings and slides to arrest school dropout rates by education minister Partha Chatterjee may not be implemented in most Kolkata schools due to space shortage. Many district schools will go ahead.
In a bid to attract more students and to lower the dropout numbers, the Bengal government has decided to install swings, slides, sea-saws and other recreational equipment in state-aided primary schools. This isn’t the first such initiative taken by the state to arrest the dropout rate. The government is already distributing free shoes among students of Classes I to IV. Free textbooks and uniforms are also given to students up to Class VIII.
However, the latest move has been questioned by many in the education department with regards to schools that don't have playgrounds or empty spaces.
“We want to make education more enjoyable for primary students…. Children are often deprived of games as the schools do not have the required facilities…. So we have planned to install swings, slides and other such equipment in the schools," education minister Partha Chatterjee said in the Assembly lobby after formally announcing the decision in the House.
Around 53,000 state-aided primary schools in Bengal will benefit from this new announcement. Taking note of the point that some schools don’t have adequate space, Minister Chatterjee said the scheme would "take time" to be implemented in full.
Education department officials pointed out to the acute scarcity of space in Calcutta schools. Although most schools in the districts have big grounds, only few are equipped with recreational facilities such as swings, slides, merry-go-rounds and gyms.
Sources from the education department said the decision to set up recreational facilities in primary schools had been conveyed to most institutions. Around 12,000 schools have already responded to the plan.
"The heads of many schools are still unaware of the decision. We expect a better response once the decision is communicated to all schools," the official said.
A systematic process has been instituted for schools desiring to install the recreational facilities on campus. First, they have to apply to the district inspector of schools in their respective zones. The district inspector will then conduct an inspection to ascertain what equipment can be installed. Upon receiving an approval from the district inspector, the government will install the facilities.
Most heads of Calcutta schools said that it was not possible for them to implement the education department's plan. "The move is welcome. But there is hardly any space to offer," said the headmaster of a school in central Calcutta.