Bihar touches nat’l average in school learning, but challenges remain’

Bihar Social Aspects of state

Published on: 18-Jul-18
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Bihar children have fared better than many prosperous states, despite stiff odds, and are almost at par with the national average, as per the national achievement survey (NAS), 2017, done on the directive of the ministry of human resource development.
In Class 8, children from the state have fared better than the national average in mathematics, language and social science, while they are at par in science.
In classes 3 and 5 though, the achievement level of Bihar students is marginally lower than the national average.
This finding assumes significance considering the fact that Bihar is among the states with lowest spending per student.
It continues to grapple with shortage of teachers and classrooms despite big spending on infrastructure, as per the criteria laid down under the right
to education Act.
The survey, which also included teachers, found that 68% students fully understood their curricular goals while 82% claimed to have adequate instructional material and supplies.
However, 30% of the teachers said school buildings needed significant repairs, while 20% cited lack of adequate toilet facilities and 32% pointed out absence of electricity in schools.
Lack of drinking water facility was also a major hindrance, said 14% teachers in schools.
Around 28% teachers attributed increased work load due to engagement in non-academic work, while over 50% said they were not satisfied with their teaching work.
Among the districts, Muzaffarpur came up as the top performer with 85 points in classes 3 and 5, but slipped to 23rd spot in Class 8 with just 47 points.
Patna, which has relatively better strength of teachers and proper infrastructure, ranks fourth in Class 3, sixth in Class 5 and third in Class 8.
Begusarai is at the top, followed by Lakhisarai in Class 8.
The survey was conducted in 6,377 schools involving 14,777 teachers and 1,39,585 students across all 38 districts. Director, research and training, department of education, Vinod Kumar Singh said the survey findings would help in pinpointing the areas in which government needed to focus and give hope that Bihar could be among the topperforming states.