The Bihar government has announced the discontinuation of plus two (intermediate) classes in colleges affiliated with various universities in the state. In a notification issued on Wednesday evening, the Education department stated that although such courses had been discontinued in Patna University about a decade ago, the same will now cease to be held at colleges falling under other varsities from the academic session starting in April this year.
The aim is to improve infrastructure and manpower
The government has taken this decision to improve the quality of education, manpower, and infrastructure in the schools. According to the notification, intermediate education in all three streams - arts, science and commerce will now be imparted only in higher secondary schools from the academic year 2024-25. The department also stated that the delinking of intermediate (plus two) from colleges has been recommended in the Universities Act, but the same could not be enforced until now because of inadequate infrastructure and manpower in higher secondary schools.
The resolution in this regard has already been notified in the state gazette. The Nitish Kumar government had taken a policy decision in 2007 to phase out intermediate education from colleges in conformity with the National Education Policy (1986/92) and had introduced the 10+2 format in plus two.
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Education Department recruited 133698 teachers under special drive
The notification also mentioned that the department has already developed large-scale infrastructure and recruited a total of 1,33, 698 teachers under a special drive, of which, 67,961 teachers for higher secondary schools and another 65,737 teachers for secondary schools. The government schools are now equipped to handle plus two education.
Earlier, the Bihar government had also taken a policy decision to have one higher secondary school in every panchayat and to upgrade existing secondary schools.
(With inputs from PTI)
