10-05-2025
Low turnout persists for model school entrance exam
Ranchi: Despite the entrance examination for admission to state-run model schools being scheduled for Sunday, interest among students and parents remains low. The application window for the entrance examination, to be conducted on an OMR sheet, was initially open until April 15 but was extended to April 25 due to poor response.
Even after the extension, the number of applications fell drastically short of the department's of a projected 9,840 student applications from across the state, only 5,119 were received, marking a shortfall of 48%. A total of 82 model schools are currently operational across the state, offering 3,280 seats for
Class VI admissions
. Although there was a slight uptick in applications compared to last year's figure of around 2,500, the response remains well below official of the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) said, "Several structural and logistical barriers contribute to the low response.
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Many model schools are located in remote or hard-to-reach areas, which pose accessibility challenges for students and families.
Additionally, the shortage of qualified teachers in some schools has led to diminished trust in the quality of education offered, further deterring potential applicants."The principal of Model School, Chanho, Sumant Kumar, stated, "Our school is situated about 19 kilometres away from the village, which makes daily commuting difficult. Since there are no residential facilities available, many parents are hesitant to send their children so far for schooling."District administrations were instructed to intensify outreach efforts and encourage more applications. However, the results have varied widely between districts. Lohardaga recorded the lowest participation, with just 23 applications submitted for 80 available seats across its two model schools, far below the targeted 240 education officer, Vinay Kumar, said, "To improve enrolment, the education department launched several awareness campaigns ahead of the 2025–26 academic session. However, these efforts have yielded limited success. There is a lack of awareness about model schools, that's true. We made a lot of efforts in the district, so our performance has improved a bit. We have received 577 applications against 280 seats."
