Students plant saplings for university admission

Patna: A premier academic institution in Bihar has made it mandatory for students to plant and nurture to maturation at least two saplings, in order to gain admission.

The saplings must be planted on the campus or nearby villages.

The institution said it believed the move would not only conserve the environment but also help stop soil being eroded by flooding, which takes place every year in the state.

The unusual step, thought to be the first of its kind in Bihar and perhaps in the whole of India, has been initiated by the Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University, Madhepura, described as a premier academic institute in north Bihar.

Around 50,000 students have been admitted the university, or one of its 82 colleges, every year.

The University Syndicate, a senior decision-making body, voted unanimously for the rule at its meeting earlier last month.

It is now mandatory for every student seeking admission to the university or its 82 colleges to append the self-attested certificate of tree plantation to their admission form, for the university administration to consider their application.

Scramble for places

The development has seen a virtual scramble among the students to plant trees in the region and improve their chances of admission. University officials said the move would result in heavy afforestation in the region, as close to 100,000 trees will be planted every year.

University vice-chancellor R.P. Srivastava told Gulf News: "Environment is a major issue of concern for all of us and hence we decided to make the new generation eco-friendly".

"The students will be planting nothing less than 100,000 saplings every year in a bid to seek admissions, and even if 10 per cent of them fail to survive, we will have 90 per cent plants alive which will indeed prove to be a boon for us," he said.

The vice-chancellor said the students were not limited to planting trees on the university or college campuses. The could plant them in their own villages.

"The important thing is that they will have to take proper care of the saplings they have planted until they become trees, and the moment any student is found cheating the university administration, their name will be instantly struck off the administration registers," the vice-chancellor said.

Spot verification

He said the university administration would be conducting investigations into the plantation claims of the students and also making spot checks from time to time using its agency, the National Service Scheme, to ensure the plantation drive picked up momentum.

"That will be a great thing for all of us," he said.

A recent study by an American scientist said that 16 Indians were dependent on a single tree for oxygen, while in Patna, Bihar's capital, this ratio was even more alarming.

According to the research, 3,500 people in Patna are dependent on each tree for oxygen, with the capital population density going up to 1,471 people per square kilometre. Official statistics also said Bihar had a forest cover of just three per cent against the required 33 per cent.