Jalpaiguri: Jalpaiguri continues to rank at the bottom among districts in the state in terms of pass rates in secondary examinations, mirroring a trend from previous years.
This year, the pass rate in the district stands at 67.09 per cent, a notable decrease compared to previous years’ figures.
In 2022, the pass rate was 72.68 per cent, followed by a decrease to 67.73 per cent in 2023.
This year, a total of 25,440 candidates passed the exam in the district, with 10,730 male and 14,710 female students. The female students have outperformed their male counterparts.
Teachers in the district are emphasising the need to include not only students from urban schools but also those from tea estates and forest areas in secondary and higher secondary examinations.
They argue that until students from these diverse backgrounds achieve satisfactory results, overall improvements will remain elusive.
Sugata Mukherjee, convener overseeing secondary examinations in the district, has initiated a survey to understand the underlying reasons for the district’s poor performance.
Over the past few years, Jalpaiguri has consistently ranked at the bottom in overall examination results, prompting calls from the teaching community to take measures to uplift students’ performance, particularly in schools located in tea belt areas.
However, these demands have yet to be met, as evidenced by this year’s results.
Each of the Banarhat, Nagrakata, Malbazar and Meteli blocks of the district house 25 to 30 schools, predominantly situated in tea plantations and forest villages. Despite the high number of students appearing for secondary examinations from these schools, the conditions remain challenging.
Manohar Prasad Suri, head teacher of Nagrakata Hindi Secondary School, highlighted the difficulties faced by students coming from impoverished tea gardens and forest villages, where access to education is limited due to financial constraints.
Pinaki Sarkar, head teacher of Nagrakata High School, emphasised the need for collective attention to uplift all schools in the tea belt area, underscoring the role of district administration and the Education department in this endeavour.
Poor results were not limited to Nagrakata alone; schools in Malbazar and Meteli blocks also faced challenges. For instance, Dumdim Gajendra Vidyamandir saw only 53 candidates passing, while Changmari Secondary School achieved a pass rate of 68 per cent.
Kumar Chhetri, head teacher of Changmari Secondary School, highlighted the importance of a supportive home environment for students’ academic success and the prevalence of dropout cases due to financial pressures.