Dr. Neera Yadav, Ex-Education Minister, Criticizes Jharkhand’s Education
Dr. Neera Yadav of BJP condemns Hemant Soren’s education policy in Jharkhand, highlighting poor budget utilization, teacher vacancies, and lack of progress compared to the Raghubar Das era.
RANCHI – At a press conference in Ranchi, BJP leader Dr. Neera Yadav and Panki MLA Shashi Bhushan Mehta outlined the current challenges in Jharkhand’s education sector under the Hemant Soren government.
Mehta highlighted the dire condition of higher technical education, citing the under-spending of allocated budgets and the poor state of school education.
He noted that only 23.12% of the higher technical education budget was utilized, while school education saw just 58.14% budget utilization.
The student-teacher ratio in Jharkhand is alarming, standing at 35:1 compared to the national average of 18:1.
Approximately 70% of principal positions in high schools and plus two schools remain vacant, with a significant portion meant for direct appointment.
Over 50% of professor positions are unfilled in universities and colleges, with many institutions relying heavily on temporary staff contrary to regulations.
Dr. Yadav contrasted the current situation with the previous BJP-led Raghubar Das government’s achievements in education.
Under Das’s leadership, comprehensive educational reforms were implemented, including appointing teachers, enhancing infrastructure, and distributing bicycles.
The Raghubar government was responsible for equipping all 34,939 schools with bench-desks and ensuring electricity and toilet facilities in schools.
Significant expansion in technical education was achieved, including the establishment of new ITIs, engineering colleges, and polytechnics.
The BJP government also founded five new universities, focusing on various specializations to bolster higher education.
Dr. Yadav expressed disappointment at the Soren government’s failure to continue these initiatives and accused them of misleading the youth with inaccurate statistics.
Shashi Bhushan Mehta echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the youth’s growing dissatisfaction with the current government and predicting a strong response from them.
State media co-in-charge Ranjit Chandravanshi also attended the press conference, supporting the claims made by Yadav and Mehta.
