Bihar ranks 21 in education

In case of Primary schools, the student-classroom ratio in Bihar (91), Jharkhand (69) and Uttar Pradesh (57) is very high।In a few states, such as Bihar (68.37 percent), Uttar Pradesh (44.19 percent) and West Bengal (35.24 percent), the percentage of Primary schools having 60 students per classroom is much higher compared to other states.The percentage of Primary schools having electricity connection remained as low as 0।91 percent in Bihar.

In absolute terms, the highest number of Primary schools without blackboard (8,848) was in Rajasthan, followed by 7,645 schools in Jharkhand and 5,535 schools in Bihar. States such as Bihar and Rajasthan had a little low GPI in Primary enrolment, indicating that the goal of UPE in these states may not be realised unless all girls are brought under the education system.

Except in Bihar, in all other states the share of girls’ enrolment at the Primary level has been above 45 percent. in Bihar, it is only 44.36 percent at Primary and 38.87 percent at the Upper Primary level.

The share of SC girls to total SC enrolment in case of Bihar has been only 40।40 percent which is also the lowest in the country. Amongst the major states, the highest percentage of Pre-primary enrolment in Primary schools is noticed in the case of Karnataka (28.38) and the lowest 2.73 in Bihar.

State Education Minister Brishan Patel has said, that proper implementation of the proposed Common School System was one way to bridge the gap between the rich and poor.

The Common School System would be implemented in Bihar only after elaborate discussion and after seeking detailed public opinion.