The news that 65 per cent students who had appeared for the Class 12 Board examination in Bihar has failed confirms that nothing has changed in Nitish Kumar's state even after the topper scam that had shaken the country last year.
Bihar Board officials have confirmed that nearly 8 lakh of 12.4 lakh candidates who had sat for the exams have failed to clear them. The rate of passing in science stream is an appalling 30 per cent while that in arts is 37 per cent.
The board officials said the authorities were extra careful this time to ensure that the candidates did not cheat during the exams and also that the answer sheets of students who did well were assessed by a separate committee before the top five rank-holders were picked. Even the state's education minister, Ashok Choudhary, a Congressman, has said he was happy with the low success rate for it proved that their strict vigilance has paid off. Really? For the short-visioned state, the success of its policing is bigger than that of the future generation.
But these matter little if the very foundation of the education system is tampered with and the Nitish Kumar administration has done precisely that.
It's the first anniversary of Ruby Rai's exposure
It was on May 31, 2016, exactly a year ago that toppers from the state – Ruby Rai and Saurabh Shrestha – got exposed before the media by not being able to answer basic questions. The incident left a major impact on Bihar's education circles and soon, a huge scam was unearthed which had links with the political. Nothing much changed in the system apart from the victimisation of the juvenile candidates who topped the exam results. Ruby Rai was arrested along with a number of high-profile people for working in close connection with the education mafia of the state.
But who ultimately takes the responsibility for such a shocking state of affairs in a state which was the mecca of education in ancient India?
Limitless populism has rattled Bihar's education under Nitish Kumar
Noted journalist Sankarshan Thakur, who is an expert on Bihar affairs, said in his book "Single Man: The Life & Times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar" that the chief minister engaged in a "captive vote-bank building" by executing populist policies in the education sector in the form of hiring unqualified and under-qualified men and women as para teachers, many of whom could not even spell their own names.
These appointments were made on the recommendations of local politicians and the Nitish Kumar government gave them enough stipends. The aim was to build a strong vote-bank to eclipse opponents like Lalu Prasad whose RJD had ruled the state for 15 years before Nitish Kumar took over. When he assumed the office, the teacher-student ratio in Bihar was a shocking1:300 and the politician in Kumar found it a golden opportunity to expand its influence. Almost 3 lakh para teachers were hired indiscriminately in serve the political purpose.
Education is a soft but effective target for vote-mongers
Nitish Kumar also initiated a number of populist schemes like providing mid-day meals, bicycles, uniforms and even sanitary napkins to girl students but these have not been able to improve Bihar's educational foundations. They only made Nitish Kumar a popular administrator in eyes of Biharis.
Populist politicians in India have a remarkable similarity. They refuse to compromise with a "communal" Narendra Modi but never really care for quality as they should as administrators. Be it Nitish or his West Bengal and Delhi counterparts like Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, respectively, outer touches matter more as they give impressive returns in elections but not the real change on the ground.
The likes of Kumars and Banerjees have turned the education sector into a vote-catching machinery in their respective states by mixing it up with politics. It is a dangerous ploy the implications of which will be seen in the near future.
