What emerged at the deliberations held at the Hindu School was that the government should focus more on educating women and that there should be at least one government girls’ school in each district. “There are only 14 government schools for girls in the state,” a teacher said.

Cooch Behar and Nadia districts have two girls’ schools, while Purulia and South 24 Parganas have one only school. Of the 19 districts, at least four do not have a single school, one of the teachers said.

Under the banner of West Bengal Government School Teachers’ Association, the teachers, will put pressure on the government to create more girls schools in the state.

“Birbhum, Bankura, Hooghly and Burdwan districts do not have a single government girls school,” said Kuheli Mukherjee, an English teacher of Sakhawat Memmorial Girls School, Kolkata.

In Kolkata, four government schools — Sakhawat Memorial Girls School, Bethune Collegiate Girls School, Alipore Multipurpose Institution and Begum Rokeya Sriti Girls High School — have a combined annual intake of only 500 children, Mukherjee said. “Districts schools lack basic infrastructure. East and West Midnapore districts have a common school,” said Papiya Singha Mahapatra, Sakhawat Memorial Girls School principal.

“Government schools provide a better academic atmosphere and they are accessible to all as well,” added Mahapatra, stressing the fact that the government should enrol more girls schools.