The Bihar Kalam Satyagraha is a movement that is seeking to bring together citizen awareness on the quality of education in the state. It has been established beyond doubt that poor quality of education further leads to unemployment, rise in crime and unrest, among other things.
Bihar often features at the bottom of the list when it comes to quality of education despite being the state with the largest population of youth in the country. Bihar’s education system is impacted by underinvestment by the state government. The state’s per-child spending on education is INR 8,526 (2015-16), compared to the national average of INR 14,615. Further, National University of Educational Planning & Administration (NUEPA) revealed that a mere 21% of all primary school teachers in the state had passed the 10th grade. The clincher: the state has decided to shut down over 8500 schools while it is posited that by 2025, given the growth of population in the state, there will be a need for at least 60,000 more schools.
This surely calls for a state-wide, even a nationwide movement at that, on where the state is headed when it comes to providing students and youth with a constitutionally guaranteed right. Envisaged as a series of meets and discussions across university, district, block and village levels, the Bihar Kalam Satyagraha seeks to use positive mobilisation as a tool to empower both citizens and youth to make the state accountable for the quality of education it provides.
We need more such movements in the country that focus on sensitising and involving citizens in demanding and maintaining the quality of education provided in schools.
To work with or support Bihar Kalam Satyagraha, you can reach out on Facebook or Twitter