PATNA, July 17 -- Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Thursday launched 'Bihar School Live Classes', a statewide technology-driven learning initiative aimed at providing high-quality digital education and free coaching for competitive examinations to government school students. Choudhary inaugurated the programme at Government Girls' Higher Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, where he also launched the Bihar School Live Classroom logo and the Bihar School Examination Board's (BSEB) online coaching programme for JEE and NEET aspirants. As part of the pilot phase, students from 10 Saraswati Vidya Niketan model schools in Patna were connected through live interactive classrooms, while two state-of-the-art smart classrooms equipped with interactive digital panels were inaugurated at the host school. The chief minister directed the Education Department to expand the Bihar School Live Classes initiative to high schools across the state, said a government press release. The programme seeks to ensure equitable access to technology-enabled, quality education and competitive examination preparation for students across Bihar. Choudhary said the government's objective was to empower every student through smart classrooms, live learning and digital education, enabling them to compete at the national and global levels. The BSEB's online coaching programme has initially enrolled 266 students for JEE preparation and 252 students for NEET coaching across the 10 model schools in Patna. According to the board, the programme will soon be expanded to all 155 model schools in the state. Students will receive free coaching from expert faculty, specialised study material, doubt-clearing sessions, fortnightly tests and app-based interactive learning. Each school will have four subject teachers for physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology, with 40 teachers engaged in the first phase. The chief minister also inspected the school's biology, physics, ICT and ISM laboratories, sports and music rooms, interacted with students and encouraged them to excel in both academics and sports. Meritorious students who had performed well in competitive examinations were felicitated with certificates, while members of the school's successful hockey team were honoured and presented hockey kits. In a major push for education reforms, the education department signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with seven non-government organisations in the chief minister's presence. The partners include Lords Education and Health Society/Wadhwani AI, Khan Academy India, Pratham Education Foundation, AXL (One Step Foundation), Pi Jam Foundation, Mantra4Change and ShikshaLokam Foundation. The collaborations will focus on artificial intelligence, foundational literacy and numeracy, STEM education, which is an interdisciplinary approach to learning that integrates science, technology, engineering and mathematics to develop analytical thinking creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills; mathematics and science, computational thinking, coding, design thinking, project-based learning, teacher capacity building, AI-based assessment and data-driven academic management. The services will be provided free of cost to students, the press release said. The BSEB already operates free residential coaching for class 11 students preparing for JEE and NEET in Patna, along with free non-residential coaching in nine divisional headquarters. Building on the success of these programmes-including 15 students qualifying JEE Advanced in 2026-the state has decided to extend free JEE-NEET coaching to all model schools....