Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Learning Poverty among Primary School Students in West Bengal

Learning poverty has emerged as an important educational concern because school attendance does not necessarily ensure the acquisition of essential foundational learning skills. The present study examined the prevalence of learning poverty among primary school students in West Bengal and explored its variation across selected socio-economic factors, namely family income, parental occupation, and parental educational qualification. A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The study included 440 primary school students from selected schools in four districts of West Bengal: Kolkata, Howrah, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar. Data were collected using a Learning Poverty Assessment Questionnaire developed for the present study and analysed using descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. The findings showed that 37.0% of students were in the No Learning Poverty/Adequate Learning category, while 26.4%, 25.5%, and 11.1% experienced Low, Moderate, and Severe Learning Poverty, respectively. Significant differences were observed according to family income, parental occupation, and parental educational qualification. The findings indicate that learning poverty exists across different socio-economic backgrounds and cannot be understood solely in terms of school participation. The study highlights the need for early identification of learning gaps, regular assessment, targeted remedial instruction, and appropriate educational support to strengthen foundational learning among primary school students in West Bengal.