Patna: Computer studies have come to a standstill in 175 schools of Patna district. The education department had set up ICT labs in these schools with the help of an agency in August 2023. Under this project, 10 computers each were installed in 42 elementary schools and 20 computers each in 133 secondary schools to teach students basic computer skills.
However, the education department did not pay nearly Rs 5 crore owed to the agency. Due to this, the agency removed all computers from these schools after the department ordered closure of the ICT labs on 31 January 2025. Since February, students in these schools have no computers to study on, and computer classes have completely stopped.
At present, only 73 schools in Patna district have working ICT labs. These include 22 secondary schools and 51 primary schools, which are managed by another agency called Marks Education India Private Limited. This agency also provides computer teachers to run the labs. There are around 300 computer teachers working in 422 schools in the district.
Apart from these 73 schools, other schools have no computers for teaching. Although the Bihar Board has provided one computer each to 422 secondary schools, these are used only for official work and not for teaching. Due to lack of computers, many computer teachers are now being given other duties, raising questions about the future of digital education in government schools.
