15 lakh children still out of school in Bihar

Patna: Nearly 15 lakh children are still out of schools in Bihar, prompting the state government to form education committees in all the state-run primary and middle schools for not only looking after organisational matters but also improving the attendance rate of students.
We still have around 15 lakh children away from the schools and we have to bring them to schools, official sources told PTI today.

The state government has decided to set up education committees responsible for looking after daily affairs and ensuring maximum attendance in schools, they said.

Stating that the rate of attendance had registered marked improvement because of the facilities being provided by the state government in schools and drive launched for motivating children to come to school, sources said the committees would prove to be an important tool to bridge the gap.

Initial process for holding elections for the committees has been set in motion by the State Election Authority (SEC) tasked with the job, they said adding the job was tedious as elections would be held for more than 3,000 primary schools in the state. The election process is set to begin from December 2009, they said.

Sources claimed that the committees would improve the functioning of primary and middle schools and help improve the literacy rate in Bihar.

Initially, there will be provisions that only parents of the students with 60% attendance can contest the polls for becoming the members of the committees, they said, adding fifty per cent posts would be reserved for women, sources said.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has taken keen interest to ensure quality teaching in schools and motivate the children to get enrolled in schemes.

Kumar has also introduced several promotional schemes for school-going students and even given thrust on roping in men in uniform to bring those staying away from schools to schools.

Source: DNA, October 23, 2009