Arun Kumar

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.

Super 30 founder Anand Kumar. (HT Photo)
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

A division bench on Tuesday directed the additional chief secretary (education) to file an affidavit within two weeks. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrashekhar Rao in Patna on August 31, 2022. (HT Photo)
Published on Jan 24, 2023 10:07 PM IST
By, 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.

As many as 24 districts in Bihar have shown a reduction in reading ability among class 3-5 students when compared between 2018 and 2022, the ASER report stated. (HT Photo)
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

Members of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) protest against the remarks of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma in Patna on June 9, 2022. (HT Photo)
Published on Jan 20, 2023 10:29 PM IST
By, 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

Bihar education minister Chandra Shekhar claimed that the epic Ramcharitmanas promoted social discrimination and spread hatred in society. (File Photo)
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.

The ASER report, which covered 52,959 children across 1,140 villages in 38 districts of Bihar, has recommended big changes in practice, appropriate activities and high effort in the classroom to achieve universal basic foundational literacy and numeracy by the time the students complete Grade III by 2025 (HT Photo)
Published on Jan 18, 2023 10:13 PM IST
By, 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

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with his deputy Tejashwi Yadav. (ANI)
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.

The Patna high court. (HT Photo)
Published on Jan 17, 2023 09:46 PM IST
By, 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.

Over 70,000 of the 3.52 lakh contract teachers in Bihar, appointed between 2006 and 2015, face the prospect of losing their jobs (Representative Photo)
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

The University Grants Commission (UGC) too in the past issued guidelines for the early resolution of promotion cases and the filling up of large-scale vacancies (Representative Photo)
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

Former JD(U) president Sharad Yadav passed away at the age of 75 on Thursday. (PTI Photo)
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.

A protest in Patna against Bihar’s education minister Chandrashekhar over his remarks on ‘Ramcharitmanas’. (HT)
Published on Jan 12, 2023 10:00 PM IST
By, 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

Bihar’s education minister Chandrashekhar. (ANI Photo)
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.

Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar. (ANI Photo)
Updated on Jan 12, 2023 04:43 AM IST
By, 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.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar (HT Photo)
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

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s national executive meeting will be held in New Delhi on January 16 and 17 (Representative Photo)
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.

With the revenue collection just one-third of the target so far and most of the districts showing unsatisfactory performance,minister Ramanand Yadav told the officials to step up efforts and crack down on illegal sand mining, transportation, and storage by the mafia. (HT Photo)
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

The high court categorised teachers on the basis of their training status. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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

Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has dismissed Singh’s criticism of Nitish Kumar. (HT PHOTO)
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.

Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav (HT file)
Updated on Dec 31, 2022 09:18 PM IST
By, 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.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said investigation is being done properly. (ANI)
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

The court directed the commission not to make any appointments until further notice (Representative Photo)
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

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar coming out of the Bihar Assembly in Patna. (HT File Photo/Santosh Kumar)
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.

Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha with BJP legislators outside of Bihar Assembly in Patna on Monday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)
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

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar (HT File Photo)
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.

The Patna high court. (HT Photo)
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

BPSC advertised vacancy for 40,506 head teachers and the written test scheduled on December 22. (File Photo)
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

The BJP legislators staged a walkout in the Bihar Assembly for the third day. (Photo by Santosh Kumar/ Hindustan Times)
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”

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar coming out of assembly during the Winter Session in Patna n Wednesday (HT File Photo/Santosh Kumar)
Published on Dec 16, 2022 02:47 PM IST
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