Every year, Patna students score excellent grades in board exams but they just can’t wait to get out of the state as soon as they graduate from school. While most choose to go to Delhi, other cities are also not off the radar.

The Telegraph spoke to a number of scholars, academics and education department officials to find out the reason for the students’ flight. Some claimed that Bihar does not have institutes as good as in other states. Other said the educational institutions in Bihar did not have proper faculty, infrastructure or up-to-date syllabus. Few rued the lack of a proper academic climate in the state.

In any case, Bihar students have to venture out in search of greener pastures.

Take chartered accountant aspirant Supriya Rohatgi. The commerce passout of St Joseph’s Convent High School scored 94.25 per cent in ISC this year. She said the choice of colleges in Bihar left much to be desired.

“As far as schools are concerned, there are lot of options in Patna. But colleges here are not good enough. The infrastructure at most of these colleges is appallingly inadequate,” said Rohatgi.

Don Bosco ISC topper Tanay Mukund also has similar plans. “I want to study engineering but there are no good technical institutes in Bihar. So, I have to go to another city,” he said.

Senior academics corroborated the claim of the young students.

Patna University English professor Shiva Jatan Thakur told The Telegraph: “These days, most students want to study professional courses. As most technical colleges are in the south, students prefer to go there. Also, these colleges have better scope of campus placement. Only a handful of institutions are able to get jobs for their students.”

He added: “The dearth of good teachers and proper infrastructure is also responsible for the brain drain.”

Thakur’s colleague from the geography department, RBP Singh said: “In other states, colleges and institutes have upgraded their syllabus. But that did not happen in Bihar. While universities in Delhi, Allahabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore are collaborating with foreign universities, students in Bihar hardly get any opportunity. As a result, students and teachers get the message that they do not have sufficient scope in the state and move out.”

The state education department officials also accepted the standard of the universities in Bihar is not up to the mark. Education department joint director R.S. Singh told The Telegraph: “The universities in Bihar are not in a good condition. There is also a significant shortage of teachers as there has been no appointment in the past 10 years. There is no academic atmosphere in colleges. The plan for starting technical colleges is languishing in the pipeline.”