Amartya Sen and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi at the event in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, July 5: Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who heads the mentor group for the upcoming Nalanda International University, today praised Bihar for trying to improve the state of education but stressed that much still needed to be done for improving overall standards.

“There are some real sparks of hope which deserve appreciation. Along with that appreciation should also come encouragement to the educational authorities of Bihar to do more — indeed much more — than they have been able to do so far,” Sen said today while releasing a report on the progress and challenges of elementary education in the state.

The 76-page report has been jointly prepared by Pratichi, a trust founded by Sen, and the Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute.

Sen will preside over the upcoming Nalanda university’s mentor group meeting tomorrow. Sen heads the group which comprises, among others, economist Lord Meghnad Desai, Harvard University professor Sugata Bose, vice-chancellor-designate Gopa Sabharwal and Singapore’s foreign minister George Yeo.

Sen ticked off deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, who made a reference to the Nobel laureate’s “third” visit to Bihar. “I felt offended at Modi’s count of my visit. I had visited the ruins of Nalanda with my grandfather and great scholar, Acharya Kshiti Mohan Sen, when I was barely 10. It was my grandfather who instilled in me the idea to revive the ancient seat of learning,” Sen said. He then smiled wryly while looking at Modi and said: “It is my 125th visit to Bihar. One has to learn about Bihar if one wants to understand India for ancient Indian history is what Bihar’s history is.”

Sen said that higher education and centres of excellence could not flourish without building the infrastructure for elementary and secondary education. He cited the ancient seat of learning at Nalanda as an example. “Undoubtedly, it was the first proper university and the best in the business in the entire world in the 7th century AD. But there was a strong elementary education system supporting it which we know little about because of the lack of excavation and studies,” he said.

Sen pointed out that it was not the time to deliberate on “good news and bad news” in the context of education in the state as doing so would amount to over-simplification. Looking at Modi and human resource development minister P.K. Shahi, he said: “No one expected that the long-standing problems of educational neglect in Bihar would disappear instantly. But you (ministers) will have to keep on working hard and in a sustained manner. You have to ensure the participation of the people in your endeavour.”