Kolkata: In a bid to enhance educational access and quality for minority students in Bengal under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Aikyashree scholarship scheme, the West Bengal Minorities’ Development & Finance Corporation (WBMDFC) is planning an impact assessment survey of the scheme, implemented in government and government-aided madrasahs in the state.
The survey will cover the period from 2019-20 to 2022-23, and would assess the scheme’s impact on enrollment, dropout rates, gender gaps, learning outcomes and educational quality. A WBMDFC official confirmed that an e-tender has been floated for conducting the survey.
The survey will identify barriers such as inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages, among other aspects and provide recommendations for improving the scheme’s implementation and monitoring mechanisms.
As part of the infrastructure and social impact, the survey will identify deficiencies in basic infrastructure (eg, classrooms, teaching materials) that may have hindered the scheme’s impact. Analysis will be made on the social and educational impacts on minority students, particularly in terms of access to higher education and interest in pursuing studies. It was learnt that a field sample survey will cover 20 per cent of institutes across all districts, selected in consultation with WBMDFC. At least 10 districts will be visited with a minimum of six schools per district, including rural schools and those in educationally backward blocks. The survey team will engage with state and district officials and review educational data sources to assess progress over the years.
WBMDFC will facilitate the survey by arranging interactions with district and state officials and will accompany the survey team during state visits. It will provide the team with documents such as the Aikyashree scholarship scheme framework and comprehensive implementation reports.
The survey report will make recommendations to justify the continuation or modification of the scheme. It will suggest improvements in implementation, monitoring and resource utilisation. The report will recommend strategies to enhance educational quality, focusing on girls and other backward caste minority students. It will also suggest ways for innovative procurement methods and better use of data from sources like UDISE, NAS and PMS reports.
The Aikyashree scholarship scheme, launched in the 2019 academic year, is a state government-sponsored initiative aimed at improving educational access and quality for minority students in Bengal.
Its key objectives include increasing enrollment, enhancing educational quality and reducing dropout rates among minority students, particularly in madrasahs.