• Source:JND
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The Bihar Education Department introduced a new policy aimed at improving the quality of education in the state-run government schools. Under this initiative, students from Panchayats will be able to pursue their higher education such as Class 11 and 12 within their local schools. The decision is expected to boost education, including appointment of teachers and availability of necessary equipment. 

However, the new policy mandates that children who have finished their education up to the 8th standard in their village must enrol in the upgraded high school or inter-school of their panchayat, regardless of the distance. 

It poses challenges for students in rural regions near cities, who were earlier planning to study in nearby towns. Those students will now have to search for government schools within their panchayat, which might be even further as compared to their previous schools.

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Parents have expressed mixed reactions to the new rule. While some see it as an opportunity for rural children who previously had to travel to urban schools, others are concerned about the implications of new schools being further away from the previous school looking at it as restricting choices for the students.

For example, earlier girls from Makanpur village in the Warisaliganj block of Nawada district attended the nearby Project Bandi Shankar Girls Inter School. With the new rule, they must travel five kilometres across an open railway crossing to reach the Higher Secondary and Inter School in Masuda village after completing the 8th grade.

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The major concern is that the longer distance may discourage parents from sending their daughters to school, potentially depriving them of attaining further education. 

While speaking to Dainik Jagran, District Education Officer of Nawada, Dinesh Chaudhary stated that student enrollment will proceed according to the department’s directive stating that the policy aims to decentralise education and make it more accessible to rural populations.