Education in Jharkhand

Jharkhand is the 28th state of India. Formerly a part of Bihar, the state was formed on November 15, 2000 with Ranchi as its capital. A hub of industrial activities, the state of Jharkhand is also an educational destination. Centres of learning including Symbiosis Public School, CBSE Boarding School in Ranchu, Bundu, Birla Institute of Technology and Indian School of Mines, attract students from across the country enrol for their cutting-edge programs in wide-ranging disciplines.

Nevertheless, Jharkhand has an inadequate educational infrastructure, exacerbated by increases in population. The Government has not been able to provide books since 2001. The state was severely hit by a Naxalite-Maoist insurgency and is a crucial state in the Red Corridor.

The 2011 census listed the state's official literacy rate at 67.63% (Male: 78.45%; Female: 56.21%) with nine districts above the average literacy rate.

Students can begin school when they turn five years old, with free and compulsory primary education available for all children up to age 14. Every school is affiliated to the state board of secondary education, the CBSE, or with the ICSE. State schools use Hindi as their medium of instruction. Schools affiliated to CBSE or ICSE, instead use English.

One notable national educational scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan attempts to universalize elementary education through district-based, decentralized planning stressing community ownership of the school system.

Schools

Jharkhand has several schools that act as focal points for education, with an emphasis on art. They have helped bring attention to multiple new artists.

Jharkhand follows the 10+2 system of school education, after which students move to 3 year degree courses of higher education. The network of around 21,386 government and private schools includes:

• Bishop's School (Ranchi)
• Bishop Westcott Boys' School
• Bishop Westcott Girls' School, Ranchi
• Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Bokaro
• DAV Public School, Hehal
• Delhi Public School, Bokaro
• Delhi Public School, Dhanbad
• Delhi Public School, Ranchi
• De Nobili School, FRI, Dhanbad, [1]
• Hill Top School, Jamshedpur
• Deovalley High School, Deoghar
• Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi
• Kailash roy Saraswati vidya Mandir, Jhumri Telaiya
• Little Flower School, Jamshedpur
• Loreto Convent (Ranchi)
• Loyola School, Jamshedpur
• Nutan Education World, [2]
• Oxford Public School, Ranchi
• Sacred Heart Convent School (Jamshedpur)
• Sainik School, Tilaiya
• St. Anthony's School, Ranchi
• St. John's High School, Ranchi
• St. Xavier's School (Bokaro)
• SJ DAV Public School, Chaibasa

The literacy rate for females is lower than males. Educationists in Jharkhand paint a bleak future for primary education, especially in rural areas where school buildings were damaged by the insurgency. High dropout rates and wasted primary education projects are serious concerns.

Higher education

Government and private groups operate colleges. Several institutes and research centers are located in this state. Together, these offer a wide range of courses in Undergraduate, Post-Graduate and PhD levels in science, medicine, engineering and commerce. The Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board caters to 5 Medical (Degree) stream colleges, 1 Agriculture University, 10 Diploma to Degree stream colleges, 16 Engineering (Diploma) stream colleges, 1 Hotel Management and Catering stream college, 2 Post-Graduate Medical (Diploma/Degree) stream colleges, and to 10 Engineering Degree stream colleges in the state.

The colleges in Jharkhand are affiliated with the state's universities, namely Ranchi University, Birsa Agricultural University, and Vinoba Bhave University, offering degrees in computer applications, information science, bio-medical instrumentation, biotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, business and hotel Management. The most notable legal and technological institutes in Jharkhand are the National University of Study and Research in Law[NUSRL(NLU Ranchi)], Ranchi, ISM Dhanbad, BIT Mesra, National Institute Of Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT), Ranchi and the NIT Jamshedpur, which offer engineering and technology degrees at the undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral level.