Bihar

• 28 Sep 2021

Educational Tourism

Why in News

• Recently, the University Grants Commission has identified 100 places across the country for the purpose of educational tourism for the students, out of which 5 sites are related to Bihar.

Key Points

• Educational tourism can be defined as a form of tourism in which tourism is used as an important tool of educational learning.
• The aim of educational tourism is to make the learning process more practical and interactive as well as introduce the students to different cultures.
• It is noteworthy that under the National Education Policy-2020, educational tourism has been included under Activity Education with the aim of strengthening the spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat', under which 5 destinations from Bihar- Sasaram, Rajgir, Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and Vaishali have been included.
• The details of these tourist places are as follows-
  
  • Nalanda: Nalanda was a famous monastery and center of Buddhist learning that developed under the patronage of the Gupta Empire in the 5^th and 6^th centuries.
  • Bodhgaya: Lord Gautam Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.
  • Vaishali: Vaishali was a large and powerful kingdom in the 6^th century BCE, where Kattagarasala was built in Mahavana by the Lichchavi rulers for the abode of Buddha.
  • Rajgir: Rajgir is one of the important sites of the Eight Mahasthalas in Buddhism.
  • Sasaram: A small inscription from Chandan Shaheed near Sasaram in Rohtas district confirms the Mauryan victory in this area.