Cool Bihari

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Bihar's key initiative in Education sector

Finally country’s eighth Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) got off to a flying start at Patna .Few would have believed that this transformation will happen so soon.This marks a beginning of a new era in technical and higher education in Bihar.

Altogether 108 students, including six girls, belonging to different parts of the country have taken admission to the Patna IIT which has started with three formal trades electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer sciences. Said Palak Agrawal, a student of computer sciences, “I hadn’t imagined, not even in the wildest of my dreams, that my hometown will get an IIT and I will be a proud student of this institute.”

In another development Bihar government has approved the allocation of Rs 586 million for the setting up of a branch of the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). In May this year, the cabinet had approved free-of-cost transfer of 10 acres of land from the agriculture department to the industries department for establishment of the NIFT branch, which will be the ninth in the country. NIFT has branches in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Rai Bareilly.

School and primary education in Bihar has also got boost with the new radio program titled English is Fun which is being used for teaching English to more than 67 lakh students in over 70,000 government schools. The results of the radio programme helping children learn English have been encouraging. The pre-launch survey indicated 47.9 per cent had average knowledge of English and only 10 per cent were good at the language. However, after the pilot programme, 73 per cent have average knowledge and more than 18 per cent are good.

Job market in Bihar has also undergone sea change in the last few years,this is truly demonstrated by the growth of private enterprises and manpower consulting firms in Bihar. the state government's labour department held a job-cum-career counselling Mela at the S K Memeorial Hall here. Around 26 private companies, including Reliance, HDFC, IBN Daksh, Wipro and ITC, were engaged in recruiting 2,000 youths. Around 10,000 boys and girls clutching their certificates were crowding the various stalls set up on the occasion.

Labels: Community Radio, Education in Bihar, IIT Patna, Jobs in Bihar, NIFT Patna

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Dawn of a new era in Bihar

Bihar has made significant progress in scaling upto the challenges of improving the education system in the state. At the grass root level radio’s in Bihar are playing English tutorials for the kids in the interior villages to learn the nuances of the language .

Now I can say 'welcome', 'thank you' and even write small sentences," said Rajesh. It's an achievement for a boy who belongs to a landless farmer's family and speaks the Maghi dialect at home.

The programme covers nearly six million primary school students in 37 districts in the state and is broadcast through radio sets in government schools. "English for Fun" was launched by the Bihar government in December last year at a cost of Rs 40 million in collaboration with a Bangalore-based NGO, Education Development Centre, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

On the other hand Higher and technical education in Bihar is showing encouraging action. Graduates of IIM-A have charted a course and are helping the government of Bihar to set up CIMP management institute in Patna with support from IIM-A faculty members.

IIM-A alumni Abhinav Jain, Amit Kumar, Rahul Roushan, Kartik Laxman, Akshat Khare, Kaushlendra and Mayank Premi from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, are applying their management skills to develop Chandragupta Institute of Management, Patna, (CIMP), Bihar, on the lines of IIM-A. CIMP's administrative structure, course curriculum and pedagogy have been modelled on the lines of IIM-A. Even its library is being constructed with the help of IIM-A. Roushan, who is part of the project team, said, "IIM-A students, especially those hailing from Bihar, used to discuss how to help the state come out of its backwardness."

"One thing was quite clear — that brain drain had to be stopped — and for that local centres of excellence and opportunities have to be created. CIMP is an important step towards that and we are getting support from those who do not hail from Bihar but who believe in the cause," added Roshan.

Director, CIMP, V Mukundadas, stated that IIM-A has agreed in principle to support CIMP with its technical expertise in setting up the library, although a formal announcement is yet to be made by the authorities in this regard. Professor Piyush Kumar Sinha, chairman, placement committee at IIM-A, is one of the key members involved in the shaping up of CIMP.

Labels: CIMP, Community Radio, Education in Bihar, IIM

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Community Radio Project in Bihar Schools

The community radio project in Bihar is all set to get started. Schools will soon double up as broadcasting stations in Bihar where the government has proposed a community radio project for which 11 high schools of Patna and Nalanda have been selected.

The aim is to disseminate information on government and other socially useful schemes, encourage local participation by the community, revival of local and folk art forms, employment of local youth in the community thus discouraging migration, and aid the process of disaster management.

“We have already applied for licence and the decision is pending with the Centre. Once the licence is issued, we will set up FM broadcasting stations at select schools that will relay programmes related to local issues, fairs, etc. The core programming will be done in Patna while peripheral programming in districts,” said secretary of the Information and Public Relations Department Rajesh Bhushan.

Bihar’s HRD department would bear 60 per cent of the cost and the remaining will be taken as loan from a bank, Bhushan said.

On the expected outcome from the project, he said: “We expect CRS’s can contribute to social, economic, cultural and political development. Besides, personal and community announcements can be broadcast, allowing the radio station to serve as a community telephone or bulletin board, apart from providing entertainment through radio theatre, poetry and music.”

Labels: Bihar 2.0, Bihar Economic Development, Community Radio, Development Projects in Bihar, Social Entrepreneurs

Posted by Ajit Chouhan at 11:07 PM | Permalink | Comments