News Analysis India

Tag: Bihar schools

  • Post lockdown, Bihar govt brought over 32 lakh dropouts back to schools

    Express News Service
    PATNA: In a special post-lockdown drive, over 32 lakh children have been enrolled in Bihar’s government schools. The drive, christened as ‘Praveshotsav’, was launched across the state from March 8 to 24 by the education department to bring the school dropouts back to classrooms. The programme used the service of school teachers, Aanganwadi sevikas and the Jeevika-Didis.

    According to education minister Vijay K Chaudhary, the state government is determined not to leave a single child out of school and the Praveshotsav has yielded a great result with good support from the people. According to the director of primary education Dr Ranjit K Singh, a total number of 32, 08,503 children have been brought back to classes 1 to 9 across the 38 districts.

    “The children have been enrolled in nearly 69,558 government-run primary, upper secondary and high schools in the state”, Dr Singh said. He added that the parents were encouraged to send their wards to schools through various modes of communications including village meetings and dramas. The department has also enrolled 5,535 are differently-abled children.

    The highest number of children — 13,55,465 — has been enrolled to class 1, while 5, 77,885 children have been enrolled to class 6.  He said that the highest number of 772 differently-abled children have been enrolled in Nalanda district followed by 316 in West Champaran,  289 in Sitamarhi, 276 in Samastipur and 251 in Nawada.  In the same way, Dr Singh said, 1,94,877 children have been enrolled in Muzaffarpur followed by 15,861 in Vaishali, 1,52,562 in Sitamarhi, 1,36,616 in Purnia, 1,32,209 in Madhubani, 1,28,684 in Nalanda, 1,27,453 in West Champaran and other districts.

    Besides this, the department has also decided to start a 3-month long ‘Catch-Up class from April 8 for the pupils to help them cover their courses suffered during the lockdown

  • 1.6 crore school students to be promoted sans exams in Bihar

    Express News Service
    PATNA: The education department of Bihar, headed by CM Nitish Kumar, will promote the students of nearly 78,000 government primary, middle and high schools to the next classes.

    Education Minister Vijay K Chaudhary told the Assembly on Tuesday that the state government has taken this decision considering the future of school students in the aftermath of the lockdown.

    The number of students to be promoted without appearing in exams will be around 1.66 crore. The education department has also decided to reopen primary schools for Classed I to V from March 1.

    Replying to a question, the education minister said higher secondary schools have opened in 8385 panchayats.

    The opposition, however, continued to attack the government, saying that the state remaining backward in education.

    “The NDA government has ruined education in the last 15 years of governance,” Tejashwi Yadav alleged.

  • 10 lakh school children dropped out from schools in Bihar due to Covid-19 lockdown: Data

    Express News Service
    PATNA: Official data shows that a total of 10 lakh children dropped out of school from various districts of Bihar due to the COVID-19 lockdown in the state.

    Six lakh children, enrolled in classes 5 to 6 of government schools, dropped out while four lakh children from classes 8 and 9 left their respective schools.

    To bring these students back into classrooms, the education department of Bihar government has decided to launch ‘Admission Drive’ across the state from April 1.

    Sharing this news, director of Primary education department Dr Ranjit K Singh said that the special admission drive to bring back all dropouts back to school will be carried out from April.

    School headmasters, of primary to high school level, have been given the task to carry out the admission drive on a larger scale to reduce student dropouts.

    Dr Singh said “we have also finalised to conduct bridge-courses for all students in schools, whose courses could not be completed due to lockdown in the state.”

    He further added that the bridge course will continue for three months between April and June, for all classes.

    Dr Singh said that the students are also being motivated to complete their courses with the help of ‘Vidha-Vahni’ app developed by the education department with a facility to upload notes of all subjects on it.

    Meanwhile, a proposal is being prepared by the NCC Directorate of Bihar to place NCC under the Education Department and include it as a ‘Choice Based Credit Course’ in higher educational institutions.

    A proposal to this effect has already been pared by the NCC Directorate for the expansion and strengthening of NCC in the state.

    If the proposal is accepted by the government, Bihar will be the first state in the country to include NCC under the education department and in the Choice Based Credit Course.

    The biggest advantage for the NCC, after its inclusion in the education department, will be that their credit performances will be added to their academic performances apart from basic training.

  • After 11 months, Schools for classes 6-8 to reopen on February 8 in Bihar

    By Express News Service
    PATNA: Schools for classes 6 to 8 in Bihar will reopen from February 8 after 11 months of remaining closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The decision to reopen the schools for the students of class 6 to 8 was take at the meeting of Crisis Management Group on Friday. The education department has issued a direction to this effect to all the districts.

    According to the order of the primary director, schools will be reopened for class 6 to 8 with a condition that only 50 percent students will be allowed in a classroom. But 100 percent attendance of teachers has been mandated in the order.

    The order has directed the district education to ensure adherence to safety protocols of the Covid-19 guidelines. Wearing face masks for children and teachers has been made mandatory in schools with a facility of thermal scanning at the school gate itself. 

    No sick teacher or student will be allowed to enter inside the school premises.

    Schools and colleges from 9th to 12th classes were opened from January 4 this year.   

  • Bihar lawyer quits lucrative job, devotes life to education of poor kids

    Express News Service
    PATNA: She is a law graduate and holds a post-graduate degree in English literature. But what makes her happy is not arguing for clients or being with poetry but teaching and feeding the poor kids free of cost with a mother’s tender heart.

    She quit a lucrative job of a legal consultant, halted legal practices to ensure education for hundreds of children belonging to poor families.

    She took a loan against some ornaments and borrowed money from friends to buy study material and stationery items for poor slum kids of her native place.

    Meet the Hajipur-born 35-year old Sarita Rai, who is educating poor students at her ‘Topper Study Point – The Udaan’ from 2014 in many districts of Bihar including Vaishali, Samastipur, and Saharsa. Her coaching centre has now become a household name in the marginalised families.

    Known as “bookbali-didi”, Sarita carries chocolates for kids and spends hours counselling the parents to send their wards to her centre for free coaching with books and foods also, if required.

    She said initially she had to face people’s taunts but she continued her work. Her husband Ranjit K Rai, son Krish Kunal (a budding writer who had written a book on lockdown) never let her down in adverse times.

    Sarita said she often faced a shortage of study materials for which she begs from friends and people in the social gatherings. “I spend 10% of whatever I earn as a juvenile lawyer,” she said, adding many benevolent people have also been sending books and other study materials to her centre at Hajipur in Vaishali district.

    So far, more than 250 poor students have been educated and tutored by her for competitive exams.

    Rachna Kumari (8) and Sima Kumari (7) being tutored by her said: “Didi ham logo ko bahut pyar se padhati hai aur kha ne ko bhi deti hai”( Didi teaches us with a lot of love and also gives us something to eat).

    Mannu Kumar, son of a rickshaw puller Devendra Das at Hajipur, said that he wanted to study but his father was not sending him to school. But when she knew about Mannu’s desire, she reached his house and brought him to her study centre. 

    In the same sentiment, Radha Devi, who sales vegetables, said her daughter Reena Kumari is now reading the newspaper without going school, thanks to Sarita Tai’s tutoring.