Universal enrolment of children in 2,000 villages in Bihar

Patna, Apr 19 (UNI) More than 2,000 villages spread across seven districts of Bihar have achieved universal enrolment of children in schools, Bihar Education Project Council(BEPC) director Anjani Kumar Singh said today.

The seven districts are -- Kishanganj, Araria, Jamui, Sheohar, Sitamarhi, Vaishali and Rohtas.

Addressing a workshop of district and block coordinators of education projects organised here by the BPEC with support from UNICEF, Mr Singh said that all children within 6-14 years in these villages were enrolled either in regular schools or in alternative schools opened by various agencies with the assistance of the the government.

''There is an enabling environment for achieving universal elementary education in Bihar with the appointment of over 1.2 lakh teachers, construction of about one lakh new class rooms and opening of 15,000 new schools,'' he said.

''Sankalp,'' a focused education project initiated by BPEC, aims at providikng education to all out of school children, besides increasing the learning capacity of them and improving their attendance in schools,'' Mr Singh added.

He said that assistance from the members of Panchayati Raj institutions, Vidyalaya Shiksha Samitis, Meena Manches and other community-based organisations were being taken to achieve this mission.

Speaking at the workshop, state representative for UNICEF in Bihar Bijay Raj Bhandari said 62 per cent of the children enrolled during the recent drive were from scheduled castes and minority groups.

He stressed on the need for spreading education among the marginalised community in the society.

''Enrolment will be meaningful only if all students attend their schools regularly,'' he noted.

UNI