Bihar govt "losing" interest in education: Roundtable on girls' education told

By Our Representative
Addressing the Round Table Discussion on "Education of Girls in Bihar: Present Challenges and Initiatives", organized by the Right to Education (RTE) Forum, Ambarish Rai, its national convenor, said that the government, teachers and civil society must work together to educate girls. The roundtable took place at the Sinha Institute, Patna.
Rai said, "The basic issue of education has not yet become the subject of our discussion and concern. In such an environment, girls' education remains neglected. It is therefore necessary that education should be brought to the centre of politics and political debate." He added, "Bihar is a state where people still believe in government school system. But regrettably it is now beginning to lose interest and is tilting in favour of the private sector."
Those who participated in the discussion included Prof Pushpendra of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Patna, senior social worker and educationist Akshay Kumar, president of the Bihar Secondary Teachers' Association and member of the Bihar Legislative Council Kedar Pandey, Vidyanand Vikal, former chairman of the Bihar State Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Commission Prof Gyandeo, Naveesh Singh of the Campaign Against Child Labour, Sabrina D'Souza, advocacy manager, Malala Fund, and Sunita Sharma, head, Malala Fund, India.

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