there are 100% black boards available, 99.2% toilets, 45.24% electricity connection, 96.36 % playground facilities and 85.92% drinking water supply. This record was also recently published in the annual report of union HRD ministry.

However, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Sikkim has shown a different picture of the educational status of the state. Of 767, only 74% schools have the facility of toilets and out of them 52% girls and 52.02% boys do not have toilet facilities. The CAG report of 2009 also says that there is no electricity in 70% of the schools, 40 % of the schools do not have playground facilities and 32% of the schools lack drinking water facilities.

On the high drop-out rate, CAG reports 2009 further says “Scrutiny of enrolment records of the students in the state revealed that there was high drop-out of students as they progressed higher in the school system. 19,935 students enrolled in class I in 2000 were reduced to 11,530 in 2004 when they reached class V and to 7,806 when the students reached class VII. Thus, 42 % of the students dropped out of the school system by the time they reached class V while 61 % dropped-out while the students reached Class VIII.

President Patil has reason to be worried because the foundation of any nation depends on a prosperous and strong human resource. If there is no well educated and prosperous human resource, a nation can not be sustained and gradually diminishes toward its own downfall.

It is not that the State government has not taken any steps to upgrade the quality of education in the state. It has set up many schools even in the remotest places of the state to impart education to poor students of the villages and there are many technical and vocational institutions in the state to make them skilled professionals. There is the Sikkim University, a central university, Sikkim Manipal University and many other private universities in the state which provide qualitative education in the state.

However, the main concern is the high drop-out rate of students in primary and secondary level schools. Even great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had emphasized on the need for good primary education. Despite the presence of many state of the art and high-standard educational institutions in the state, the drop out rate is still showing a very high trend. The reason for this conundrum is definitely food for thought. One can’t be blamed for thinking that there must be something wrong in the educational system in the state. The department should pay a lot of attention to the village schools and at the same time, the teachers in the villages also have to be active and alert. There is some misconception among the teachers that being sent to village schools is a way of punishment. This misconception should be removed from their minds.