The name of their country is Bangladesh and its capital Dhaka- this is what a primary school student in India replied when the students were asked this very simple question.
The student in question is from Kashiara-Raipur high school in Burdwan, a district in West Bengal, according to a report published in Anandabazar Patrika.
The ‘shocking’ answers came when a team visited schools in the district to inspect the standard of education especially general knowledge among the students, reports the Anandabazar Patrika.
The team first visited Kuchut primary school in Memari, where students of class-4 were asked to write in English “I live in West Bengal.” While some managed to write until “I live in,” most failed to write West Bengal-the very district they live in!
In another nearby school, a student of class-8 was asked to read out loud in English, who failed to do so. The officials then asked the teacher to read the text in English and were irritated at his pronunciation.
In Ausha Primary school, students were asked what is the capital of India. And one enthusiastic student answered ‘Dhaka’!
“We got these wrong answers during the inspection of some of these schools. However we got some intelligent answers as well,” said Achinta Chakrabarty, head of Burdwan District Primary School Council told the BBC Bangla.
Saumitra Mohan, district magistrate of Burdwan, was accompanying Chakrabarty during the district-wide school inspection.
The inspection reports will also be handed over to the state’s education minister.
In another such incident, the class topper of standard ten in Bihar state could not even say what her subject’s name was. Replying, she had said she studied “prodical science” (political science). In wake of the controversy that she raised over the school’s education standard, she was arrested.
Recently controversy has stirred up over the standard of education at schools and colleges in India and Bangladesh.
A recent report that made the rounds in Bangladesh media also showcased the falling standard of education in our country. In the widely televised report students who scored GPA 5 in their secondary school examinations failed to answer simple questions such as “Who is the present president of Bangladesh?”
