Patna,(BiharTimes): There is a steep fall in the number of beneficiaries of government schemes in schools due to 75 per cent attendance criteria fixed by the state government after ‘double enrollment’ was detected by an NGO, Pratham, and government itself in 2011.

The number of beneficiary students is just around 1.10 crore against the official enrollment of 2.08 crore.

Strangely there are over 12,000 private schools in the state too. Their numbers are growing though they charge hefty fees.

The problem of double registration continues and it is estimated that about 20 per cent children are still enrolled both in government as well as private schools.

It remains a mystery as to how the number of government school children could be as high as 2.08 crore––not to speak of private school students––when the state population is about 10.5 crore.

A large number of unregistered private schools have cropped up all over the states, especially in the rural areas. This is simply because the government schools are not upto the mark.

Private schools come to the rescue of students in a different way too.

For example for admission in Navodaya Vidyalayas, Kendriya Vidyalaya and other institutions the students require certificates from recognized schools. So they enroll in government schools, though many of them actually study in private ones for better education.

Though action has been taken against double or even triple (or more) enrollment the state government could not fully weed out this corrupt practice.

Officials claim that 75 per cent attendance criteria for the government schemes such as uniform, bicycle etc has managed to improve the attendance in government schools and to a certain extent check the double enrollment.

Another interesting aspect about the state is that of the nearly 12,000 private schools that had applied for registration under the Right to Education Act barely 1,500 have so far been given recognition.

The government has served notice to 3,000 others to complete the requirements within a year, failing which they could be closed down.

“There are still 7,500 schools which are being examined, We had advertised the mandatory provision of registration under RTE a number of times and hope all the schools have applied,” R S Singh, joint director of Primary Education, was quoted in Hindustan Times recently.

But sources said the number of private schools actually functioning could be well above 12,000 marks.