75% seats reserved for rural students; 280 seats each for boys, girls
Patna: A long eight-year wait is finally over for Nalanda's minority residential school, first sanctioned in 2018-19. Constructed at a cost of ₹56 crore, the campus can accommodate 560 students for both boarding and academics. Besides classroom education, the facility will provide meals, clothing, books, medical treatment, coaching, and vocational training to its residents.
The minority residential school, built in Chakrasalpur village under Biharsharif block, now stands fully complete. Minority Welfare Minister Mohammad Zama Khan will inaugurate the school's inaugural academic session for 2026-27 on Wednesday, after which regular classes will commence. The launch of this residential facility is expected to significantly benefit underprivileged, talented children from the district's minority communities by giving them access to quality education. The inauguration ceremony is scheduled to begin at 4 pm, and District Minority Welfare Officer Manish Kumar confirmed that all arrangements at the campus have been finalised ahead of the minister's visit.
Sanctioned in 2018-19 under the Bihar State Minority Residential School Scheme, the project saw three acres of land earmarked in Chakrasalpur village, located in Devisarai mauza, with construction entrusted to the Bihar State Building Construction Corporation. Groundwork began in January 2025 with the erection of the school's boundary wall. Modelled on the lines of Jharkhand's well-known Netarhat School, the ₹56 crore facility is designed to house 560 students simultaneously — split evenly between 280 seats for boys and 280 for girls. Notably, three-quarters of the total seats have been set aside specifically for students hailing from rural areas.
The admission process for classes 9 and 11 opened online in April this year, with applications accepted until May 1. This exercise ran in parallel for similar minority residential schools in Kaimur, Katihar, Jamui, and Muzaffarpur, alongside Nalanda. A statewide entrance test — a two-hour, 100-mark objective paper — was conducted on May 17, with results announced on May 28, and admissions finalised strictly on merit. Eligible candidates included students from the Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi communities, with age caps set at 16 years for class 9 aspirants and 18 years for class 11, alongside an income eligibility limit of ₹6 lakh per year for applicant families. Those selected through this process will now step into their new classrooms at the Chakrasalpur school from Wednesday onward.
