St Stephen’s College in New Delhi. Telegraph picture

Patna is my home and very special to me. I was born and brought up here and went to school in this city. I am also very grateful to the city for the opportunities it has provided me in all these years.

But like many youths of Patna, and the state, my friends and I are thinking over which city to go to for further studies.

Come June and there will be a race for college admissions. My peers and I, who will pass out from some of the best schools in the capital, want to go to the best colleges. We have three options — Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore. With relatives based in all these cities, it won't be a problem to find our feet in any corner of the country.

What do we have in our state? It's not that I am eager to leave Patna but I don't see much chance of growth here. Yes, there is Patna University but it's more in the news for the ruckus on campus than for its academic excellence.

Patna University was once known as the Oxford of the East. But what is it today? Everyone in the city, including my juniors, know about the lawlessness in the varsity. It has gained a reputation for rowdyism.

Our elders are the first ones to advise us to go out of the state for quality education. Even my parents do not want me to continue with my education in Bihar.

My seniors from school have all taken admission in colleges in Delhi, Calcutta or Mumbai. They say the best colleges here cannot match up to even the mediocre ones in the Metros. I need to be practical and make the choices that would help my career.

These choices have to be made smartly. I agree with my friend Anjani, who took his Class XII examination this year. He says it is a wonderful time to be a student, there are many opportunities for us. Sadly, Bihar has nothing to offer to its youth, as far as the present standard of education is concerned. Reputation of colleges, infrastructure and job prospects are things that I will look for when I decide on joining a college. Like my friend Kumar Shanu, I too will have to make the difficult choice of moving out to another state.

Experts say there is no lack of talent here. A large number of students from Bihar crack IIT and IIM entrances as well as civil service examinations. But there should be attractive opportunities to keep them back in the state.

With due respect to all the educational institutions in the state, there is a need to upgrade the education system here. No one can deny this. Most political parties focus on roti, bijli, makan, sadak and kisan. But it is high time we stand up and ask the government to take the issue seriously and take steps to improve the standard of educational institutions.

The honourable chief minister has taken some steps to rectify the problems. A lot still needs to be done.