Inter students to be shifted to schools

Patna: A college student one year and a school student the next — sounds bizarre?
No, it is not a demotion but an education department order wherein Intermediate first year (Class XI) students in different degree colleges of the state will have to finish their higher secondary education by studying Class XII in schools in the next 2024-25 session.
According to a circular issued by secondary education director Kanhaiya Prasad Srivastava on Saturday, all students presently enrolled in Class XI in different degree colleges, will have to get themselves admitted in higher secondary schools for doing their Class XII.Hence, the 2023-25 Inter batch would have a unique experience of having studied at two different types of institutions, degree colleges and higher secondary schools.
This as the state government has decided to delink intermediate teaching completely from all the degree colleges (both affiliated and constituent) with effect from April 1. In the light of this, the students enrolled in Intermediate 2023-25 batch in degree colleges will be allowed to study there only up to April 15 during which they will have to take admissions to higher secondary schools.
The schools will then have summer vacation from April 16 to May 15, after which the students would be able to start their Class XII in their new institutions in the new academic session, said sources.
The education department had earlier notified that Intermediate education would be completely delinked from the degree colleges from the next academic session and hence there would be no fresh admission in 2024-25. Patna University had already delinked intermediate classes from all its degree colleges in 2007-09 session.
According to the notification, the Intermediate education in all three streams — arts, science and commerce — will now be imparted only in the higher secondary schools from the new session.
The department has already developed a large-scale infrastructure and recruited 67,961 teachers for the higher secondary schools and another 65,737 in secondary schools under a special drive. The government schools are now equipped to handle plus two education, the notification said.
Meanwhile, guardians of some students enrolled in degree colleges expressed their displeasure over the department’s decision to shift their wards from college to school in the middle of their courses. “It would have been better had the department allowed the students to complete their intermediate education from the colleges where they were enrolled,” said C K Prasad whose ward is a student of A N College.