Bihar govt to launch 'Mission Daksh' for 25 lakh academically weak school children

Patna: The Bihar government will launch a programme in December for nearly 25 lakh children lagging woefully behind their peers in schools with some of them incapable of reading simple Hindi words despite having reached upper primary classes, officials said on Thursday.

As part of the programme, 'Mission Daksh', the state Education Department has directed teachers to intensively mentor such students, in batches of not more than five, with the "warning" that any laxity will cause them to face action.

Additional Chief Secretary of Education KK Pathak wrote to all the district magistrates (DMs) on November 21, requesting them to supervise the progress of the programme in their areas on a daily basis from December 1.

District-wise monitoring committees, headed by DMs, would be formed for the effective execution of 'Mission Daksh', it said.

During the regular inspection and monitoring by the DMs that started in July, it was found that there is a considerable number of academically weak students in almost all state-run schools, the letter said.

"Keeping this in mind, the department has decided to launch 'Mission Daksh' from December 1 in all government schools across the state to improve the academic performances of such students," it said.

"Academically weak students are much behind their peers in schools... some of them are incapable of reading simple Hindi words properly despite having reached upper primary classes," it added.

Pathak directed that such students be identified on a priority basis.

"After that, the principals will ask teachers to conduct extra classes (post-lunch) with not more than five children at a time. Such students often need individualised attention in order to fully grasp difficult concepts and bridge the learning gaps. This targeted approach will also allow teachers to personalise their teaching methods in a way that suits the unique needs of each weak student," he said in the letter.

"All 25 lakh (approximately) such (academically weak) students will appear in their final examinations in April, 2024. If these students fail in their final examinations, strict departmental action will be initiated against their headmasters/ principals and teachers by the Education Department," he said.

The Nitish Kumar government has been taking a slew of stringent measures to improve the quality of education in the state over the last one year.

In September, Pathak directed the district education officers (DEOs) to interact with parents of students whose attendance is less than 50 per cent, and take measures for improvement.