Education in West Bengal
School infrastructure, enrollment trends, learning outcomes, and teacher metrics from UDISE+ data.
West Bengal's literacy rate has climbed past 82%, and its 67,000+ schools reach every district. But learning outcomes tell a harder story — on ASER reading and arithmetic benchmarks, WB still trails the national average. The system has solved access; the next decade is about solving quality.
Key figures & data tables
West Bengal runs 1,01,080 schools teaching 1.92 crore students across primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary levels. Enrolment is close to gender-balanced at every level: Primary (I-V) 95.7 lakh, Upper Primary (VI-VIII) 46.2 lakh, Secondary (IX-X) 31.8 lakh, Higher Secondary (XI-XII) 18.5 lakh.
On infrastructure the state is at or above the national average on most measures: Electricity 96.2% (India 91.6%), Drinking Water 97.8% (India 96.8%), Girls' Toilets 95.4% (India 95.9%), Boys' Toilets 94.1% (India 95.2%), Computer Lab 28.5% (India 38.8%). The pupil-teacher ratio ranges from 22:1 in Darjeeling to 48:1 in Uttar Dinajpur, against an all-India average of 26:1.
Learning outcomes are the gap. West Bengal trails the national figure on 5 of 6 ASER benchmarks — for example, std iii can read std i text: 42.5% in West Bengal against 46.2% nationally. The system has largely solved access; quality is the next decade’s problem.
The rows behind the charts above — 6 tables
›Schools in West Bengal by level and management(8 rows)
Source: UDISE+ 2023-24, Ministry of Education.
| Level | Management | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Government | 52,890 |
| Primary | Private | 8,450 |
| Upper Primary | Government | 15,230 |
| Upper Primary | Private | 4,120 |
| Secondary | Government | 8,920 |
| Secondary | Private | 3,450 |
| Higher Secondary | Government | 5,680 |
| Higher Secondary | Private | 2,340 |
›School enrolment in West Bengal by level and gender(4 rows)
| Level | Boys | Girls | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary (I-V) | 48,50,000 | 47,20,000 | 95,70,000 |
| Upper Primary (VI-VIII) | 23,40,000 | 22,80,000 | 46,20,000 |
| Secondary (IX-X) | 15,60,000 | 16,20,000 | 31,80,000 |
| Higher Secondary (XI-XII) | 8,90,000 | 9,60,000 | 18,50,000 |
›School infrastructure in West Bengal vs India(10 rows)
Percentage of schools with each facility. Source: UDISE+.
| Facility | West Bengal (%) | India (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 96.2 | 91.6 |
| Drinking Water | 97.8 | 96.8 |
| Girls' Toilets | 95.4 | 95.9 |
| Boys' Toilets | 94.1 | 95.2 |
| Computer Lab | 28.5 | 38.8 |
| Internet | 22.3 | 33.9 |
| Library | 68.4 | 72.3 |
| Playground | 62.1 | 60.5 |
| Ramp for Disabled | 72.8 | 71.2 |
| Boundary Wall | 78.5 | 76.8 |
›Pupil-teacher ratio and teacher qualification by district(9 rows)
All-India average pupil-teacher ratio: 26:1.
| District | Pupil-teacher ratio | Qualified teachers (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Darjeeling | 22 | 94 |
| Kolkata | 24 | 92 |
| Howrah | 28 | 90 |
| North 24 Parganas | 32 | 88 |
| Purulia | 35 | 80 |
| South 24 Parganas | 38 | 82 |
| Murshidabad | 42 | 78 |
| Malda | 45 | 75 |
| Uttar Dinajpur | 48 | 72 |
›Learning outcomes in West Bengal vs India (ASER)(6 rows)
| Indicator | West Bengal (%) | India (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Std III can read Std I text | 42.5 | 46.2 |
| Std V can read Std II text | 48.3 | 50.5 |
| Std III can do subtraction | 28.1 | 25.9 |
| Std V can do division | 22.4 | 25.6 |
| Std VIII can read Std II text | 72.8 | 73.5 |
| Std VIII can do division | 38.5 | 44.7 |
›Every claim on this page, traced to its source(15 rows)
| Claim | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|
| School infrastructure counts (Primary, Upper Primary, Secondary, HS) by management | UDISE+ 2023-24 (Ministry of Education) — state-wise school counts | 2023-24 |
| Enrollment by level + boys/girls split | UDISE+ 2023-24 — enrollment statistics | 2023-24 |
| Infrastructure indicators (electricity, drinking water, toilets, library, computers) | UDISE+ 2023-24 — infrastructure facilities section | 2023-24 |
| Pupil-Teacher Ratio by district | UDISE+ 2023-24 — teacher statistics | 2023-24 |
| Learning outcomes — NAS indicators vs national | National Achievement Survey (NAS), NCERT | 2021 (latest released) |
| Grade-wise dropout rates WB vs India (Preparatory 0/3.7, Middle 0/5.2, Secondary 12.0/10.9) | UDISE+ 2023-24 Report, Table 6.11 (Dropout Rate by level of education and gender) — Ministry of Education, released 2025 | 2023-24 |
| WBBSE Madhyamik 2025 — overall 86.56%, boys 89.19%, girls 84.39%, Purba Medinipur top at 96.46% | West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) — Madhyamik Pariksha Result declared 2 May 2025 | 2025 |
| WBCHSE HS 2025 — overall 90.79%, Science 99.46%, Commerce 97.52%, Arts 88.25% | West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) — HS Result 2025 | 2025 |
| HS stream shares by volume — Arts 76%, Science 17%, Commerce 5% | WBCHSE HS 2025 — stream-wise appearance counts | 2025 |
| Kanyashree — ~18 lakh K1 annual + 3.5 lakh K2 one-time, 20M+ cumulative beneficiaries | Kanyashree Prakalpa official dashboard + WB Dept of Women & Child Development | 2024-25 |
| SVMCM 2025-26 live — 82,503 fresh applicants across Medical 68,289 / General Degree 18,315 / Polytechnic 11,019 / Engineering 4,128 / School 1,413 | Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship portal (SVMCM) — live applicant counts | 2025-26 |
| Aikyashree minority scholarship — Pre-Matric + Post-Matric + TSP + MCM, ₹1,100-33,000 range | WBMDFC Aikyashree portal (Govt of West Bengal Minority Affairs & Madrasah Education) | 2024-25 |
| PM POSHAN — ~1.15 Cr WB beneficiaries, ~88k govt/govt-aided schools, Centre 60% / State 40% cost share | Ministry of Education PM POSHAN + Govt of West Bengal PM POSHAN state portal | 2024-25 |
| Union Budget 2025-26 allocation to PM POSHAN — ₹12,500 Cr | Union Budget 2025-26 (Ministry of Education) via PIB | 2025-26 |
| WB state extra — eggs + chicken twice weekly fully state-funded over and above PM POSHAN menu | Govt of West Bengal School Education Department | 2024-25 |