Bihar minister promises focus on teaching in mother tongue and learning outcomes

The minister was replying to the debate on his department’s budgetary demand of ₹38,035 crore, which was passed by the Bihar Vidhan Sabha

Bihar education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said on Wednesday that the government would address all the issues faced by teachers in the state, but would expect that the latter group addresses the key issue concerning delivery of quality of education. He also announced that mother tongue will now become the medium of instruction in elementary schools of the state, in line with the new education policy.

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“With over 20% of the budget, a lot has been done in the education sector in the last one and a half decade, but now, the focus will entirely be on improving learning outcomes and this can be done only by teachers, who are central to the education system,” said Choudhary.

“I also urge the regional officials to ensure that the teachers got their due without running around offices. It needs continuous effort to improve the quality of education,” he added.

The minister was replying to the debate on his department’s budgetary demand of ₹38,035 crore, which was passed by the Bihar Vidhan Sabha. The opposition leaders, however, slammed the government for poor quality education in the government schools.

In keeping with the New Education Policy (NEP), the minister said that education in elementary schools would now be imparted in mother tongue. “It has been proved that children are more receptive in their mother tongue and Mahatma Gandhi also strongly batted for this. The government is also in the process of developIng a roadmap for implementation of NEP,” he added.

The minister said that the government is committed to increasing gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education. “So far, the government has sanctioned ₹3290 crore under students’ credit card scheme, part of the Bihar government’s 7-Resolves, to help students of underprivileged sections pursue higher and technical education, while ₹1538.86 crore has already been released for benefit of 110,456 students,” he said.

Choudhary said efforts were underway to develop one model school in each of the 38 districts of the state. “Due to Covid-19 pandemic, education suffered in schools. Therefore, the bridge course has been planned to cover the gaps, as many students could not have access to online education,” he added.