forest in the plains of Southern Bengal. Bankura Sammilani Medical College is the oldest medical college in this area. Flora and fauna The eastern portion of the district is a part of the rice plains of West Bengal. The land under rice cultivation contains marsh weeds of Gangetic plain. Around human habitations there are shrub species such as: Glycosmis, Polyalthia suberosa, Clerodendrum infortunatum, Solanum torvum and various other species of the same genus, Trema, Streblus and Ficus hispida. The larger trees are: papal, banyan, red cotton tree (Bombax malabaricum), mango (Mangifera indica), (Lannea coromandelica), Phoenix dactylifera, and Borassus flabellifer. Other plants found include: Jatropha gossypifolia, Urena, Heliotropium and Sida. Forests or scrub jungles contain: *Wendlandia exserta, Gmelina arborea, Haldina cordifolia, Holarrhena antidysenterica, Wrightia tomentosa, Vitex negundo and Stephegyne parvifolia. The western portion of the district is higher. The uplands are either bare or are covered with scrub jungle of Zizyphus and other thorny shrubs. This thorny forest gradually merges into sal (Shorea robusta) forest. Low hills are covered with Miliusa, Schleichera, Diospyros and other trees. Some of the common trees of economic interest found in the district are: Alkushi (Mucuna pruriens), amaltas (Cassia fistula), asan (Terminalia tomentosa), babul (Acacia nilotica), bair (Zizyphus jujuba), bael (Aegle marmelos), (Jatropha curcas), bichuti (Tragia involucrate), bahera (Terminalia belerica), dhatura (Datura stramonium), dhaman (Cordia macleodii), gab (Diospyros embryopteris), harra (Terminalia chebula), imli (Tamarindus indica), kuchila (Strychnos nux-vomica), mahua (Bassia latifolia), palas (Butea frondosa), (Moringa pterygosperma), kend (Diospyros melanoxylon), mango, date-palm, nim, papal, banyan, red cotton tree and . Education Bankura district had a literacy rate of 70.26% as per the provisional figures of the census of India 2011. Bankura Sadar subdivision had a literacy rate of 69.56%, Khatra subdivision 69.79% and Bishnupur subdivision 71.60%. Given in the table below (data in numbers) is a comprehensive picture of the education scenario in Bankura district for the year 2013-14. The primary schools include junior basic schools; middle schools, high schools and higher secondary schools include madrasahs; technical schools include junior technical schools, junior government polytechnics, industrial technical institutes, industrial training centres, nursing training institutes etc.; technical and professional colleges include engineering colleges, medical colleges, para-medical institutes, management colleges, teachers training and nursing training colleges, law colleges, art colleges, music colleges etc. Special and non-formal education centres include sishu siksha kendras, madhyamik siksha kendras, centres of Rabindra mukta vidyalaya, recognised Sanskrit tols, institutions for the blind and other