Lok Sabha Question No. 1691 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-10
Subject: Key Educational Indicators for SC Students in Bihar
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Arun Bharti

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 1691

## ANSWERED ON 10 th  MARCH, 2025

## Key Educational Indicators for SC Students in Bihar

1691. Shri Arun Bharti:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  key  educational  indicators  for  Scheduled  Castes  (SCs)  students  in  Bihar,  including literacy  rate,  school  dropout  rate,  enrollment  rate  in  higher  education,  and  academic performance;

- (b) the current status of the residential schools for SC students in Bihar;
- (c) the number of operational Eklavya Model Schools and other Government-run residential schools in the country along with their capacity to accommodate students;
- (d) the number of SC students benefited from scholarship schemes in the State;
- (e) the measures being taken by the Government for effective improvement of the students;
- (f)  whether  the  Government  plans  to  introduce  special  coaching  centres,  digital  education resources and vocational training programmes to support SC students in the State; and

(g) whether any policies are being formulated by the Government to enhance higher education access  and  employment  opportunities  for  SC  students  in  Bihar  and  the  status  of  their implementation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a): The  key  educational  indicators  for  Scheduled  Caste  (SC)  students  in  Bihar  as  per UDISE+ 2023-24 are as follows:-

1. Literacy Rate
2.  The literacy rate of Bihar (age 7 and above) including SC is 74.3%
2. School Dropout Rate
4. 
5. Primary Level: 10.5%
6.  Upper Primary Level: 27.7%
7.  Secondary Level: 26.1%
3. Gross Enrolment Rate (GER)
9.  Primary education: 97.1%
10.  Upper Primary: 79.1%,
11.  Secondary: 50.4%
12.  Higher Secondary: 32%
13.  Higher Education: 16.4 % (AISHE Report 2021-22)

## 4. Academic Performance

-  Secondary Examination Pass Rate (2023, Bihar Board): 71.9%
-  Higher Secondary Pass Rate (2023, Bihar Board): 79.9%
- (b): In Bihar, 595 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) with an enrollment of 30,050 Scheduled  Caste  (SC)  girls,  15  Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Residential  Hostels  with enrolment of 911 SC students and 39 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) with an enrollment of 3,764 SC students are functional.
- (c):  As per the information received from Ministry of Tribal Affairs, a total of 476 Eklavya Model Residential Schools is functional, benefitting approximately 1.37 lakh students across the country as on February 12, 2025. Additionally, as per UDISE+ 2023-24, the status of other residential schools are as follows:
- (d): Department  of  School  Education  &  Literacy,  Ministry  of  Education  is  implementing 'National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme,' a Central Sector Scheme with the objective of awarding scholarships to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage. One lakh  fresh  scholarships  are  awarded  to  selected  students  of  class  IX  every  year  and their continuation / renewal in classes X to XII for study in State Government, Governmentaided and Local body schools under the scheme. The amount of scholarship is Rs. 12000/- per annum. The numbers of students of SC category benefited from this scheme in the State of Bihar during the FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 are 2373 and 2477 respectively.

|       | Type of Residential Schools   | No. of Fully Residential Schools   | Total Enrolment in Fully Residential Schools   |
|-------|-------------------------------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| INDIA | Ashram (Govt.)                | 6,882                              | 12,37,216                                      |
| INDIA | Non-Ashram (Govt.)            | 3,270                              | 8,30,983                                       |
| INDIA | KGBV                          | 2,449                              | 4,30,725                                       |
| INDIA | Model School                  | 719                                | 1,61,852                                       |
| INDIA | JNVs                          | 653                                | 2,89,155                                       |
| INDIA | Others                        | 1,418                              | 2,18,047                                       |

In addition, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing Pre and Postmatric Scholarship Schemes for SC students. The number of students of SC category benefited from Post-matric scheme in the State of Bihar during the FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 are 136340 and 68975 respectively. Likewise, the number of students of SC category benefited from Pre-matric scheme in the State of Bihar during the FY 2022-23 and FY 2023-24 are 132127 and 146660 respectively.

(e)  to  (g): National  Education  Policy  2020  (NEP  2020)  aims  to  ensure  that  no  child  loses opportunity to learn and excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. It has taken into account the concerns of the Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) which includes  female  and  transgender  individuals,  Scheduled  Castes,  Scheduled  Tribes,  OBCs, minorities and other categories. This policy aims at bridging the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes.

Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools and Higher Education Institutions are in the domain of the respective States. The Central as well as State Governments endeavour for effective improvement of the students, including those belonging to  disadvantaged  communities  including  SC.  The  Central  Government  provides  financial assistance to States and UTs under Samagra Shiksha scheme to ensure that all children have access  to  quality  education  with  an  equitable  and  inclusive  classroom  environment  which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process. Samagra Shiksha has been aligned with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which aims at fostering holistic development, nurturing critical thinking, and integrating essential skills into the learning process.  Digital education initiatives like SWAYAM, DIKSHA, and PM-eVIDYA are being implemented to enhance  access to quality education through online platforms. Vocational education component of Samagra Shiksha scheme integrates skill-based learning with academic curricula equipping  students  including  those  for  Scheduled  Castes  with  essential  skills  to  enhance employment opportunities. In Bihar, 173 schools have been approved under the vocational education  scheme,  benefitting  3,200  students  by  providing  practical  training  aligned  with career aspirations.

As per information received from Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the said department implements a Central Sector Scheme namely Free Coaching for Scheduled Castes and  OBC  students.  Under  the  Scheme,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  candidates  of Scheduled  Castes  (SC)  categories  for  coaching  for  various  competitive  and  entrance examinations  like  UPSC,  SPSC,  IIT-JEE  etc.  The  coaching  under  the  scheme  is  provided through empanelled Central Universities. However, no Central University from the State of Bihar has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement the scheme so far.

As per the information received from State Government of Bihar, in order to enhance access to higher education in the State, the SC students are exempted from the fee to be paid at the time of admission to traditional PG/UG courses, provided accommodation at special hostels and covered under Student Credit Card Scheme etc.

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