Arun Kumar is Senior Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times. He has spent two-and-half decades covering Bihar, including politics, educational and social issues.
Articles by Arun Kumar
Three people from Bihar, including Super 30 founder Anand Kumar, to receive Padma Shri
Other than Anand Kumar, the two others are Kapildeo Prasad, a weaver from Baswan Bigaha village in Nalanda, and Subhadra Devi, a Mithila artist.
Published on Jan 25, 2023 10:42 PM IST
HC stops funding of 609 Bihar madrasas pending inquiry into grant
The madrasas in Bihar face probe over the release of grant-in-aid on the basis of forged documents and the high court sought its completion in four weeks
Published on Jan 25, 2023 03:32 PM IST
Tejashwi, Lalan to join Stalin, Soren at KCR show in Secunderabad
Lalan Singh will go as the representative of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, a statement by Telangana minister said.
Published on Jan 24, 2023 10:07 PM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
ASER flags Bihar schools’ worrying learning outcome, dip since 2018
As per the ASER report, while the percentage of class 3-5 children, who could read class 2 level text was 32.8 in 2018, it came down to 30 in 2022.
Published on Jan 22, 2023 10:52 PM IST
JD-U legislator’s ‘Karbala’ remark triggers fresh row
Ghulam Rasool Baliyavi was speaking in reference to the now suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comments on the Prophet last year, which had triggered violent protests
Published on Jan 20, 2023 10:29 PM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
BJP files cases across Bihar against education minister’s Ramcharitmanas remark
BJP workers have filed petitions against education minister Chandra Shekhar in 30 districts and soon will have it in all the 38 districts
Published on Jan 20, 2023 12:39 PM IST
2022 ASER report: Attendance in Bihar schools far below national average despite incentives
The report, led by Pratham Foundation, has also flagged high prevalence of private tuition, which is nearly 2.5 times the national average and points to lack of quality education in the government schools.
Published on Jan 18, 2023 10:13 PM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
RJD issues notice to ex-minister over comments against Nitish Kumar
The notice is being seen as an attempt to deflect attention from the row over education minister Chandrashekhar’s remarks that epic Ramcharitmanas promoted social discrimination and spread hatred in society
Updated on Jan 18, 2023 02:28 PM IST
‘Missing folders’ derail probe into teacher recruitment in Bihar
Though the VIB has so far filed over 1000 FIRs involving over 2,200 teachers, things have not moved further since the Patna HC ordered the probe in 2015.
Published on Jan 17, 2023 09:46 PM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
Bihar: ‘Missing folders’ continues to haunt state govt, schools teachers
The state education department last year put the onus of uploading their documents on the specified portal of the working teachers whose folders are missing, however, despite giving several deadlines, the process could not be completed.
Published on Jan 17, 2023 05:45 PM IST
Bihar cabinet nod for university teachers’ promotion statute
Teachers’ promotions remained withheld in the colleges and universities due to an executive order by the department of education in July 2021, which was later suspended
Published on Jan 15, 2023 01:37 PM IST
Ex-minister, Bihar stalwart Sharad Yadav dies aged 75
Ten-time MP – seven times in the Lok Sabha and three times in the Rajya Sabha – Yadav was regarded as a tall socialist leader
Published on Jan 13, 2023 09:22 AM IST
Bihar minister defiant after remarks on Ramcharitmanas
Religious texts like Ramacharitmanas spread hatred just as ‘Manusmriti’ and Golwalkar’s ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ created social divide in different eras, the RJD leader had said.
Published on Jan 12, 2023 10:00 PM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
Bihar education minister’s remarks on Ramcharitamanas sparks controversy
Bihar’s eduaction minister Chandrashekhar claimed that religious texts like Ramacharitmanas spread hatred just as ‘Manusmriti’ and MS Golwalkar’s ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ created social divide
Updated on Jan 12, 2023 12:54 PM IST
Bihar minister’s statement on Hindu epic sparks controversy
Chandrashekhar was speaking at the convocation ceremony of Nalanda Open University when he made the remarks. Bihar governor Phagu Chouhan was also present at the event.
Updated on Jan 12, 2023 04:43 AM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
Teachers conducting board exams to be spared from caste survey work: Bihar govt
Over 13.18 lakh students will take the practical exams across 1,464 centres, according to official data. The intermediate practical exams are scheduled from January 10-20.
Published on Jan 11, 2023 03:50 PM IST
Ahead of national meet, Bihar BJP works on organisational revamp
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal, union minister Nityanand Rai, Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi, including the party’s top brass met in New Delhi to discuss the preparation of the party’s progress report
Updated on Jan 11, 2023 02:00 PM IST
Bihar achieves less than 1/3rd mining rev collection target by Dec
This development came to light during the district-wide review of revenue collection by the mines and geology minister Ramanand Yadav two days ago.
Published on Jan 08, 2023 09:42 PM IST
Bihar to terminate inadequately trained teachers following court order
Primary education director Ravi Prakash cited a Patna high court order and wrote to district education officers (DEOs) and district programme officers for compliance
Published on Jan 06, 2023 03:25 PM IST
RJD leader defends attacks on Nitish, says they are in line with party ideology
He stuck to his guns hours after RJD leader and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav dismissed Sudhakar Singh’s criticism while calling the former minister an agent of the BJP
Published on Jan 04, 2023 10:37 AM IST
The year ahead: Political flux, liquor flow in spotlight
In 2022, Bihar saw a sudden change in government that stripped BJP of power, a number of hooch tragedies, frequent protests by job aspirants, embarrassing leak of question papers of state’s top competitive exams, complete disarray in state universities due to delayed academic sessions and below par agriculture growth, which clouded the state’s positives like the inauguration of the Ganga water supply project for the vast arid regions of central Bihar and cabinet nod to fill large-scale vacancies in police.
Updated on Dec 31, 2022 09:18 PM IST
Arun Kumar, Patna
BSSC question leak: Nitish says probe on, BJP demands CBI inquiry
EOU on Saturday claimed to have nabbed the kingpin, the candidate, who first took the snap of the question paper at a Motihari school centre and sent it outside.
Published on Dec 25, 2022 10:37 PM IST
Patna HC stays appointment of assistant professors due to quota ambiguity
HC bench of justice Sharma had on November 29 directed the state to keep ready the entire method and manner in which they had made backlog reservations and requisition to the commission for various posts
Updated on Dec 22, 2022 02:14 PM IST
As criticism mounts, Bihar begins major study to survey impact of prohibition
Nitish Kumar’s announcement of the plan to conduct the study on prohibition - officials said it will be the state’s third - comes against the backdrop of opposition parties attacking the ruling alliance and the chief minister
Updated on Dec 20, 2022 07:21 PM IST
BJP continues its protest over Saran hooch tragedy on the last day of Winter session
On Monday, when the session started for the last day, it was adjourned yet again as the BJP disrupted the proceedings from the start, trooped into the well, and thumped over the hooch tragedy.
Published on Dec 19, 2022 10:45 PM IST
Hooch tragedies have nothing to do with prohibition, it is a crime: Bihar govt
BJP, the leading opposition party, has been targeting the Bihar government over the deaths and its prohibition policy. The party has termed the hooch tragedies as a result of the complete failure of prohibition in the state
Published on Dec 19, 2022 04:40 PM IST
Bihar cancels head teachers’ recruitment following HC order
This decision comes after additional chief secretary (education) Dipak Kumar Singh wrote to the BPSC regarding the need to cancel the scheduled exam in view of the Patna High Court’s order dated December 12.
Updated on Dec 17, 2022 10:21 PM IST
Bihar PSC cancels head teachers’ recruitment following HC order
The Bihar high court termed the Nationalised Primary School Head Teacher (Appointment, Transfer, Disciplinary Action and Service Condition) Rules, 2021 as draft rules and said it cannot be given effect until and unless draft rules is framed and published while inviting objections and suggestions
Updated on Dec 17, 2022 06:36 PM IST
BJP attacks Nitish govt in Bihar Assembly over hooch tragedies
The hooch tragedy in Bihar’s Saran has so far claimed over 50 lives and two more suspected spurious liquor cases were reported from Siwan and Begusarai
Updated on Dec 17, 2022 10:46 AM IST
Nitish Kumar, under attack from BJP, plans another Bihar yatra
Nitish Kumar’s last yatra was in December 2021 when he set out from Motihari in East Champaran on his “Samaj Sudhar Yatra”
Published on Dec 16, 2022 02:47 PM IST
