Patna: Education minister Sunil Kumar informed the state assembly on Thursday that the department has sent a requisition to the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) for the recruitment of 45,000 schoolteachers under the Teachers’ Recruitment Examination (TRE-4), as well as over 7,000 specialised teachers to teach divyang (disabled) schoolchildren in the state.
Regarding delayed academic sessions in universities, he said the state has 15 govt universities and eight private ones. “Of the 15 govt-funded universities, the academic session is delayed by two months in just two of them. Steps are being taken to regularise their sessions,” he said, adding that 4.50 lakh students are enrolled in higher education in the technical sector, such as medical and engineering.
He also said schoolteachers are receiving their salaries by the fifth day of every month, and there is no grievance or complaint on that front. The state has 5.87 lakh schoolteachers.
Kumar was replying to the House debate on the education department’s budget of Rs 60,204.60 crore, which, he said, accounts for 20% of the state’s annual budget for 2026–27. He noted that this is the highest allocation for the education sector among all states in the country. The House passed the budget by voice vote amid a walkout by the opposition. A cut motion had been moved by RJD member Rahul Kumar.
He reiterated CM Nitish Kumar’s announcement that a model school and a degree college will be opened in every block over the next five years under Saat Nischay-3, which will require the appointment of an additional 9,000 teachers. He said the percentage of out-of-school children has fallen to less than 1%, and the quality of education has improved as the student-teacher ratio has improved from 65:1 to 29:1.
“Both the introduction of school uniforms and bicycles for students have been major breakthroughs in improving school enrolment in the state. The initiatives have even been replicated in foreign countries like Male and Zambia,” the minister said.
Having done higher secondary from Sainik School Telaiya, Hazariba...
Read MoreHaving done higher secondary from Sainik School Telaiya, Hazaribagh (now in Jharkhand), graduated in history from Patna College. Started as a freelance journalist for Free Press Journal (Mumbai) from Patna, and then joined The Times of India, Patna, as a staff reporter, got promoted to senior reporter, and later, briefly functioned as news editor. In reporting, initially covered districts like Darbhanga and Bhagalpur on events and various aspects, and then from Patna, have covered state politics, political parties, elections, state assembly, government, cabinet, departments like finance, irrigation and a few others, also CM, occasionally PM's tours, and social issues. Have written two books -- first, Bihar in Messianic Times, second, The First Address, on the Governor House (Bihar), commissioned by the Response (Advertisement) wing of The Times Of India, Patna.
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