JAI Bihar

which dominated the Indian subcontinent from 325 BC to 185 BC. Bihar remained an important place of power, culture and education during the next one thousand years. The Vikramshila and Nalanda Universities, were among the oldest and best centres of education in ancient India. It must be mentioned here that the boundaries of ancient Mauryan empire extended up to the present day Afghanistan which was unparelled in Indian history. Historically, Bihar has been a major centre of learning, home to the universities of Nalanda (one of the earliest universities of India dating back to the fifth century) and Vikramshila. Unfortunately, that tradition of learning which had its origin from the time of Buddha or perhaps earlier, was lost during the medieval period when it is believed that marauding armies of the invaders destroyed these centres of learning. Bihar saw a revival of sorts during the later part of the British rule when they established a University at Patna along with a few other centres of high learning, viz. Science College, Patna, Prince of Wales Medical College (Now Patna Medical College and Hospital), and Bihar Engineering College (Now National Institute of Technology, Patna). However, this early lead got lost in the post independence period when the politicians from Bihar lost out in the race of getting centres of education established in Bihar. Modern Bihar has a grossly inadequate educational infrastructure creating a huge mismatch between demand and supply. This problem is further compounded by increases in population. The craving for higher education among the general population of Bihar has led to a massive migration of the student community from the state. This has led to a "flooding" of students to seek educational opportunities in other states, such as New Delhi and Karnataka, even for graduation level college education. In spite of the meager investment on education in Bihar, compared to other poorer Indian states, owing to class based reservation (of which Bihar's Pupils have been the main beneficiaries) the students have as a result done very well. Famed national institutes of learning such as IIT, IIM and AIIMS have always had a good representation from Bihar. There is also thought to be growing discontentment among students of other classes who claim however that pure merit has taken a back seat in the nation's education system as a result of giving reservation to people of backward classes.[citation needed]. Other institutions of higher learning, and coveted positions in the government also show a greater share than the percentage of their population. A recent survey by Pratham[10] rated the absorption of their teaching by the Bihar children better than those in other states.