More than three-fourths of government schools in Bihar lack electricity connections.
According to figures from the District Information System for Education (DISE), only 25.22 per cent government schools in Bihar have power connections, earning it the 34th position on the list of states and Union Territories (UTs) that provide power connection to government schools.
DISE is a government agency that conducts surveys in management of school information on various parameters every year.
The survey, which was conducted in 36 states and UTs, found only 25.22 per cent government schools in Bihar with electricity connection. Bihar is only ahead of Jharkhand and Assam in providing electricity connection to government schools. About 17.98 per cent of government schools in Jharkhand have power connections, while Assam has only 22.4.
Though the Nitish Kumar government may be lagging behind in providing electricity connections to about 2.12 crore students studying in more than 70,000 government schools, things on this front improved during his tenure. In 2013-14, only 9.96 per cent of government schools had power connections, which climbed to 25.22 per cent.
However, the state government feels there is steady progress on this front. Energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said: "As Bihar is a power-deficit state, all government schools have not been provided electricity connection, most of which are in rural areas."
Yadav added that in 2005, when Nitish came to power for the first time, Bihar's electricity consumption was 700MW, which has surged to 3,500MW now.
However, the Centre feels that the state's lack of will affects provision of power connections in government schools.
Union minister of state for power, coal and new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal said: "Bihar stands poor in power connectivity even after 68 years of Independence. There are still villages in diara (riverine) areas in Patna with no power connectivity. Last month, the Union government launched an electrification programme for villages in diaras in the Patna/Saran districts." Goyal added that providing electricity connections to schools and hospitals would be on the priority list.
