Indian States and Bihar

Historically, Bihar has been a major centre of learning, home to the ancient universities of Nalanda and Vikramshila. Unfortunately, that tradition of learning which had its origin from the time of Buddha or perhaps earlier has not continued at the same pace in modern age during the tenure of chief ministers prior to present chief minister and present government.

After independence Bihar lagged the pace in term of establishing center of education. Modern Bihar has a grossly inadequate educational infrastructure creating a huge mismatch between demand and supply. This problem further gets compounded by the growing aspirations of the people and an increase in population. The craving for higher education among the general population of Bihar has led to a massive migration of the student community from the state, though the present government is trying its best to improve the situation. (Source: Wikipedia)

This article intends to draws the attention of educational trusts and eminent educationist about the opportunities in education which Bihar state has to offer. Let us look at some data & facts which can help anyone identifying an opportunity. Please look at the following sets of data to arrive at a conclusion.

·         Population Data

·         Data on Technical Education

·         Data on Medical Education

Top Indian states with population figures

Sr.No.	State	Population	Density (per km²)
1	Uttar Pradesh	193,977,000	792
2	Maharashtra	96,752,247	315
3	Bihar	100,393,433	837
4	West Bengal	90,310,785	904
5	Andhra Pradesh	76,210,007	277
6	Tamil Nadu	66,396,000	511

Source: WIKIPEDIA   

Now please note that Bihar is one of the most populous state with 100 million (10.0 Crores) of population after Maharashtra with 96 million population and much more than Tamilnadu with 66 million.

Now look at the data for engineering colleges in 4 states for a comparison

State	Population	No of Engineering Colleges	One Engg. college for every #lakhs of population
Tamil Nadu	66,396,000 (6.6 Crore)	454* (Approx)	1.46246
Maharashtra	96,752,247 (9.6 Crore)	301* (Approx)	3.21436
Andhra Pradesh	76,210,007 (7.6 Crore)	847* (Approx)	0.89976
Bihar	100,393,433 (10.0 Cr)	20-25 # (Approx)	41.83059 Considering 24 Nos

#- This figure may differ, please check data with AICTE http://www.aicte-india.org/index.html

*- Figures for other states may vary and can be validated with AICTE. Some of these may include engineering/diploma colleges

The above data can be interpreted in following way

Bihar can offer to open

·   312 engineering colleges for every 3.21 lakhs of population to be at par with Maharashtra. 

·   686 engineering colleges for every 1.46 lakhs of population to be at par with Tamilnadu

·   1115 engineering colleges for every 0.89 lakhs of population to be at par with Andhra Pradesh

Now let us look at the facts on Medical Education

State	Population	No of Medical Colleges	One Medical college for every #lakhs of population
Tamil Nadu	66,396,000	37* (Approx)	1.794486
Maharashtra	96,752,247	41* (Approx)	2.359810
Andhra Pradesh	76,210,007	53* (Approx)	1.437924
Bihar	100,393,433	16# (Approx)	62.74589

*/ #- For exact data & more authentic information please refer: http://mciindia.org/

Here again the above data can be interpreted in following way

Bihar can have the potential to open

·   42 Medical colleges for every 2.35 lakhs of population to be at par with Maharashtra. 

·   55 Medical colleges for every 1.79 lakhs of population to be at par with Tamilnadu

·   69 Medical colleges for every 1.43 lakhs of population to be at par with Andhra Pradesh

Please note that similar gaps can be established between management education and the number of B-schools offering courses in Bihar. If similar comparisons are drawn for various management courses, other medical & technical courses I am sure educationist can find a great opportunity to offer quality education and help the people to gain education near their areas.

Please look at one more data set on number of colleges in Andhra Pradesh having less population than Bihar. Andhra Pradesh has 1,330 arts, science and commerce colleges; 1,000 MBA and MCA colleges; 847 engineering colleges; 53 medical colleges, and one Indian Institute of Technology (in Hyderabad).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh#Education

WHY Bihar offers a better opportunity in education field

·   Bihar is one of the fastest growing economy – 11% GDP growth rate for 5 years.

·   Bihar has the best Chief Minister, deputy Chief Minister in India and is better governed state among present Indian states.

·   Bihar has got mineral rich present and ex neighboring states who have been attracting massive investments in recent years. Neighboring states like Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal have been witnessing bigger investments like Posco, Jindal, Vedanta, Accelor Mittal, NTPC, SAIL to the tune of many billions. These investments would require lot of right skilled professionals.

·   Opening of Central University and people’s willingness to support cause of education

o    http://biharwatch.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html

o    http://www.scribd.com/doc/20983450/Central-Univarsity-of-Bihar-CUB-Motihari-East-Champaran-Bihar

·   Almost 58 percent of Biharis are below 25 years age, which forms a good education age group.

·   30000 students migrated from Bihar and this can be stopped if they have more number of institutions in Bihar itself. http://industries.bih.nic.in/Ppts/Presentation%20in%20Pravasi%20Bhartiya%20Divas%202008.pdf

·   Bihar can offer an opportunity to open at least 312, 686, 1115 engineering colleges, respectively just to be at par with Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (Refer the above data).

·   Bihar can offer an opportunity to open at least 1 Medical College every district just to be at par with states like Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

·   A similar interpretation can be drawn for management and other technical courses.

·   Look at the link on a report published at ASSOCHAM site http://www.assocham.org/prels/printnews.php?id=2429

·   A report published in New York Times on Growth http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/world/asia/11bihar.html?pagewanted=1&sq=Bihar&st=cse&scp=1

More source of information can be obtained from following sites on growth

o    Government of Bihar http://gov.bih.nic.in/

o    Investment in Bihar http://gov.bih.nic.in/Documents/SIPB-Proposal-Status.pdf

This is the right time for Educational Trusts to open professional institutes of repute. The way Bihar’s economy is growing; days are not far when real estate prices may move up.

Areas which may turn up as educational hubs in future

·   Nalanda (Site for Nalanda University)

·   Patna (Existing and fast growing education center )

·   Bhagalpur (Ancient Vikramshila University & leading education center)

·   Muzaffarpur (Leading education center )

·   Motihari (Proposed site for Central University )

Bihar state offers a Win-Win situation for Educational Trusts, People of the State and any other stakeholders in field of education.

The purpose of this article is to draw the attention of government, media, educationalist, foreign institutions about the opportunities in education sector in Bihar. For more accurate and authentic information please conduct your own survey and obtain more authentic and up to date information from government agencies like AICTE / MCI.

Disclaimer & Note:

·   The views/data presented here are my personal views and do not reflect views/opinion of any company, organization, government or any other institutions. People may conduct their own survey, data collection and validate the data as per their need from right and authentic organization/ institution/ government. This is is an indicative opinion about a particular industry/sector and purely personal opinion.

 ·    For correctness of data or exact number of the educational institutes please refer respective government agencies (AICTE / MCI). Contents of this article has been collected from internet and other sources

There could some variation in the data gathered and shown above, as these data depend on updates on Wikipedia site. Approval of colleges depends on government agencies and it may change the exact number of institutes shown here.

·    1 Lakh is equal to 100,000 or 0.1 million

·    1 Crore is equal to 10,000,000 or 10 million.