Campaign for equal educational opportunities: Bihar padyatra demands implementation of common school system

By A Representative 

A padyatra (foot march) demanding the implementation of a Common School System in Bihar is gaining momentum as it traverses through villages and towns, raising public awareness about the urgent need for equal educational opportunities for all children.

Launched on July 6 from Karpoorigram in Samastipur district, the march is set to culminate on July 10 at J.P. Niwas, Kadamkuan, Patna. Organised jointly by Socialist Party (India), Jan Vikas Shakti Sangathan, Koshi Nav Nirman Manch, and Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, the initiative calls on the government to end the growing privatisation of education and fulfill its constitutional responsibility to provide quality education to every child.

The march began at Gokhul-Karpoori-Phuleshwari Degree College and was flagged off at the ancestral home of former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, where his nephew Nityanand extended a warm welcome to the participants. Since then, the padyatra has held street meetings (nukkad sabhas) in Gandhi Murti, Tajpur, Bahuara, Bajitpur, and Ibhaich, drawing enthusiastic participation—especially from women members of Jan Vikas Shakti Sangathan.

Supporters who joined the march include Dhananjay Sinha, Alok Kumar, and Shashikant Prasad from Patna; Shahid Kamal from Rashtra Seva Dal; Professor Arman Khan from Saharsa; Professor Javed Abdullah from Madhubani; and on July 8, entrepreneur Nashoor Azmal and social worker Sarfaraz from Patna.

Pamphlets explaining the significance of the Common School System are being distributed along the route. The organisers pointed out that while the 1968 Kothari Commission at the national level and the 2007 Muchkund Dubey Commission in Bihar recommended a uniform education system, no meaningful steps have been taken to implement it. “Countries that achieved universal primary education did so only through a common education system,” the organisers emphasized.

The padyatra asserts that development is impossible without inclusive education. Only when children from all social backgrounds receive the same standard of education can society progress in a balanced way. The participants are urging the government to stop the commercialisation of education and take direct responsibility for ensuring equal, quality education for all.

Those marching today included Mahendra Yadav, Bhagwat Pandit, Indrajeet, Dukhilal Yadav, Babita, Ajay Sahni, Pinky, Phoolkumari, Sudha, Rajo, Gautam Yadav, Aarti, Rinki, Aviral Arman, Pawan, Santram Yadav, Ashok Chaurasia, Shankar Singh, Meenakshi Singh, and Sandeep Pandey.

The growing public support along the route indicates that the demand for an equitable and common school system is resonating strongly across Bihar.