CGJ Student Staff Update from Maria Cabrera

Hello, Everyone!

My name is Maria Cabrera, and this is my second year with the Center for Global Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law (CGJ). I am a second-year Master in Law student with Regent University School of Law. My favorite part of the CGJ is learning about people and different cultures throughout the world.

We’re approaching the end of the fall semester and I’m helping the Law Clerks finish their research on the entitlement programs in West Bengal, India for Justice Ventures International.

Recently, I’ve been working on the entitlements for education. West Bengal’s education system includes entitlements for West Bengal Department of School Education: Government Schools, Scholarships and Benefits, and Open Schooling.

Retrieved from: Hindustan Times

Government Schooling

The “Manual for West Bengal-Advocating with the Poor” mentions, the Government Schooling system as one of the main ways the gap between the rich and poor grows in India and seeks to improve the quality of education for West Bengal’s poor. The School Education Department for West Bengal is headquartered in Bikash Bhawan Bidhannagar (Salt Lake), Kolkata and is the principal authority to implement educational policies for the primary and secondary schools in West Bengal. In private organizations and religious institutions, the students are taught in English or Bengali, or Urdu, a registered language of the Hindustani language taught in Kolkata. After attending secondary school, the “10+2+3 plan encourages students to enroll for two years at a junior college (pre-university) that is related to West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.

Retrieved from: Times of India

Open Schooling

from www.twbcros.org

Lastly, West Bengal’s Open Schooling entitlement gives people who are not able to attend a formal school setting an opportunity to study. Many dropped out of school when they were young. However, as a young adult realize they want to return to school. Others work many hours or have a family so Open Schooling provides a chance to jumpstart their education and reinvent themselves.

According to “A Manual for West Bengal-Advocating with the Poor,” the Indian Open School has approximately 1.5 million students enrolled at the Secondary and Senior Secondary levels. Lakhs (hundred thousand) of people have benefited from the Indian Open School. The Indian Open School plays a critical role in making it possible for these adult students to study at home.

This post was written by a Center for Global Justice student staff member.  The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.