10-19-2006, 01:50 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Rebuilding Bihar, brick by brick </b>
Pioneer.com
Nitish Kumar has rightly made education the new engine of growth; but he must ensure that each project takes off, says Arun Srivastav
<b>Bihar defines its state of mind by the indifference with which it treats education. In the years when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav was ruling the State,</b> first as Chief Minister and subsequently through conjugal proxy, education was an ignored sector. His regime worsened an already pathetic situation.
College teachers would not get their salaries on time while their promotions had become a scandal. Hundreds of colleges were affiliated to different universities but without any infrastructure or provision for salary bills. These had become an endless source of scams and ills plaguing the system.
University education in Bihar had truly become farcical. In a bid to escape from this mire, students soon swarmed the best universities and colleges in the country, competed with students from other States in entrance tests and did well for themselves in spite of the system, and not because of it.
Meanwhile, politicians of Bihar, who were primarily responsible for triggering this exodus, were earning infamy for their dishonesty, corruption, lack of knowledge and anything even remotely approaching vision. Rampant lawlessness instilled fear in every heart.
It was in such a backdrop that the initiatives taken by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the field of education began. That students from all over the country would vie for admission through entrance tests, and pay Rs 30,000 per annum as tuition fee in addition to the cost of living for a law degree from an institution in Bihar was certainly not a very saleable idea, till a year ago. Leave alone students, even ordinary travellers had begun to skip the Bihar en route to their destinations. Such was its past.
This year, the first academic session of the newly set-up Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) began on August 14. Founded by Bihar Government, CNLU promises to provide quality education on the lines of NALSAR Hyderabad, NLSIU Bangalore and other law universities of repute. And the 80 seats on offer have all been taken up by deserving candidates who took the entrance test at Patna, Delhi and Hyderabad. Known for his excellent understanding of the running and functioning of legal institutions of repute, Prof A Lakshminath, dean and registrar of NALSAR, has been appointed the Director of CNLU.
Another important initiative of the Government is proposed appointment of 2.36 lakh teachers at the primary, middle and high school levels. Bereft of any industrial foundation, the only source of income for most people is Government jobs. Educated men and women who never had an opportunity to find employment in recent years are queuing up in large numbers to submit their forms at collection counters. The number of applicants is believed to have crossed one crore.
Agriculture, the only source of livelihood for an average Bihari farmer, too is in poor condition. Roughly half of the State remains almost perenially flooded, while the other half is in the grips of drought. The Gangetic basin is otherwise fertile with alluvial soil being brought by the annual floods.
Taking a step towards addressing the problems of the agricultural sector, Mr Nitish Kumar inaugurated a MBA (Agri-Business) programme at the Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU), Pusa. Eleven new Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) affiliated to RAU, too, are being built. Education is finally getting the required impetus for a new generation to come up and work for the betterment of the State. What Mr Kumar must ensure is that all the education projects are implemented, and not restricted to the drawing board. Looking at his modest achievements so far, optimism about Bihar's future seems in order. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pioneer.com
Nitish Kumar has rightly made education the new engine of growth; but he must ensure that each project takes off, says Arun Srivastav
<b>Bihar defines its state of mind by the indifference with which it treats education. In the years when Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav was ruling the State,</b> first as Chief Minister and subsequently through conjugal proxy, education was an ignored sector. His regime worsened an already pathetic situation.
College teachers would not get their salaries on time while their promotions had become a scandal. Hundreds of colleges were affiliated to different universities but without any infrastructure or provision for salary bills. These had become an endless source of scams and ills plaguing the system.
University education in Bihar had truly become farcical. In a bid to escape from this mire, students soon swarmed the best universities and colleges in the country, competed with students from other States in entrance tests and did well for themselves in spite of the system, and not because of it.
Meanwhile, politicians of Bihar, who were primarily responsible for triggering this exodus, were earning infamy for their dishonesty, corruption, lack of knowledge and anything even remotely approaching vision. Rampant lawlessness instilled fear in every heart.
It was in such a backdrop that the initiatives taken by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the field of education began. That students from all over the country would vie for admission through entrance tests, and pay Rs 30,000 per annum as tuition fee in addition to the cost of living for a law degree from an institution in Bihar was certainly not a very saleable idea, till a year ago. Leave alone students, even ordinary travellers had begun to skip the Bihar en route to their destinations. Such was its past.
This year, the first academic session of the newly set-up Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) began on August 14. Founded by Bihar Government, CNLU promises to provide quality education on the lines of NALSAR Hyderabad, NLSIU Bangalore and other law universities of repute. And the 80 seats on offer have all been taken up by deserving candidates who took the entrance test at Patna, Delhi and Hyderabad. Known for his excellent understanding of the running and functioning of legal institutions of repute, Prof A Lakshminath, dean and registrar of NALSAR, has been appointed the Director of CNLU.
Another important initiative of the Government is proposed appointment of 2.36 lakh teachers at the primary, middle and high school levels. Bereft of any industrial foundation, the only source of income for most people is Government jobs. Educated men and women who never had an opportunity to find employment in recent years are queuing up in large numbers to submit their forms at collection counters. The number of applicants is believed to have crossed one crore.
Agriculture, the only source of livelihood for an average Bihari farmer, too is in poor condition. Roughly half of the State remains almost perenially flooded, while the other half is in the grips of drought. The Gangetic basin is otherwise fertile with alluvial soil being brought by the annual floods.
Taking a step towards addressing the problems of the agricultural sector, Mr Nitish Kumar inaugurated a MBA (Agri-Business) programme at the Rajendra Agriculture University (RAU), Pusa. Eleven new Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) affiliated to RAU, too, are being built. Education is finally getting the required impetus for a new generation to come up and work for the betterment of the State. What Mr Kumar must ensure is that all the education projects are implemented, and not restricted to the drawing board. Looking at his modest achievements so far, optimism about Bihar's future seems in order. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->