Elementary education among schedule caste (SC) and schedule tribe (ST) women in West Bengal

Schedule caste (SC) and schedule tribe (ST) contribute about one-fourth population in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic country, India. SC and ST women that constitute approximately one-eighth of total population in India and one-seventh in West Bengal cannot be ignored. But their educational, social, economical and caste status remains far behind the normal. An effort has been made to investigate the trends of elementary education of SC and ST women in West Bengal, India. The rate of increase in percentages completed at least at primary and middle school level of education for SC and ST females in West Bengal (0.818% and 0.502% respectively, per year) became higher than that for SC and ST males in West Bengal (0.64% and 0.409% respectively, per year). But the percentages completed at least at primary level of education for SC and ST females in West Bengal remained much lower than that of for SC and ST females in West Bengal for the period from 1948 to 2001. The percentages completed at least at primary and middle school level of education of SC and ST females in West Bengal that were far below (>25%) from that of all other persons in India from 1971 and 1986, respectively and West Bengal from 1948, all other females in West Bengal from 1971 to 2001 confirmed the educational backwardness of SC and ST females in West Bengal.