Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday claimed that West Bengal lost central assistance amounting to nearly Rs 10,000 crore due to the state government’s decision not to roll out the National Education Policy (NEP).
Addressing a teachers’ convention organised by the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Kolkata, Pradhan said the Union government had repeatedly urged the state to adopt the NEP, but those appeals were ignored.
He argued that the policy strongly supports education in the mother tongue and, in West Bengal’s case, would have promoted learning in Bengali.
“The state government chose not to implement the NEP. As a result, Bengal was deprived of additional grants that could have flowed under the Samagra Shiksha Mission,” he said.
The Union minister further alleged that the state administration declined to receive extra financial support proposed by the Centre for Jadavpur University.
Pradhan also presented data to contend that the education sector in the state had weakened during the tenure of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamul Congress government.
According to him, West Bengal accounts for the highest number of schools in the country without any teachers.
“Around 4,000 schools in the state are functioning without a single teacher, which is nearly half of the national total,” he said.
He additionally flagged poor digital infrastructure in government-run schools, stating that only about 16 per cent of such institutions in West Bengal have internet access, far below the national average of around 70 per cent.
Pradhan added that if the BJP comes to power in the state after the 2026 Assembly elections, reforming and strengthening the education system would be among its top priorities.