Patna: The student-teacher ratio in Bihar’s government schools has improved significantly and is now better than the national average, following the recruitment of a large number of teachers over the past few years.
Due to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s special initiatives, more than 3,00,000 teachers have been recruited in the state since 2021. The overall student-teacher ratio (PTR) in government schools has come down to 28 students per teacher, compared with the national average of 40 students per teacher in lower classes and 30 in upper classes.
According to the National Education Project, the PTR in Bihar’s government schools in 2023-24 was 32 for classes 1 to 5, 19 for classes 6 to 8, 30 for classes 9 to 10, and 31 for classes 11 to 12. Integrated across classes 1 to 12, the overall ratio stands at 28 students per teacher.
The improvement is a sharp contrast to a decade ago. In 2015-16, the PTR in primary schools was 89 students per teacher. By 2020-21, the state saw improvement, with an overall PTR of 47 from classes 1 to 12. That year, the PTR was 57 in primary schools, 21 in upper primary, 52 in secondary schools, and 60 in higher secondary schools.
This year alone, CM Nitish Kumar distributed appointment letters to over 1,20,000 teachers recruited through BPSC, raising the total number of teachers in the state to nearly 6,60,000. Currently, 2,13,48,000 students are enrolled in government schools from classes 1 to 12.
Speaking on the development, Additional Chief Secretary of the Education Department, Dr S Siddharth, said: “The student-teacher ratio has improved significantly due to the continuous reinstatement of teachers. It has also become better than the national ratio. This ratio is expected to improve further in the coming months with the recruitment of more teachers and the inclusion of those who have been given appointment letters recently.”
