SP Upendra Kumar Sharma takes class at a school in Kutumba on Wednesday. Picture by Sanjay Choudhary

Patna, Nov. 13: Don’t be surprised to see the district magistrate (DM) and the superintendent of police (SP) in the classes at government schools in remote and Maoist-hit areas of Aurangabad district in south and central Bihar.

On Wednesday, Aurangabad DM Navin Chandra Jha and SP Upendra Kumar Sharma taught history and science to students of Jhakhari government middle school under Kutumba block of the district, considered a hotbed of rebels.

The students of the school, around 25km south of the Aurangabad district headquarters and 127km southwest of Patna, were surprised to see the offices in the role of teachers. DM Jha was first to enter the class to teach history to Class IV students.

The DM was impressed with the quality of students. He found them to be good in English, which is not common in most government schools in the state.

A Class IV student, Sujeet Kumar of Barkagaon village answered all the questions in English.

SP Sharma, a 2008-batch IPS officer, sitting in the front row on a bench earmarked for students, intervened and sought to know from Sujeet how much time he devoted to his studies at home everyday. Pat came the reply: “Sir, I usually read between 6pm and 9pm. Moreover, I don’t attend any coaching classes outside school.”

The DM, a 2000-batch IAS officer, congratulated Sujeet for giving correct answers to all the questions. “It was a surprise inspection. I was on a visit to the area to oversee the ongoing election to the primary agricultural cooperative societies,” he told The Telegraph over phone on Thursday. The DM, however, hastened to add that he was now contemplating to continue the programme in Naxalite-affected areas.