Two monthly magazines, Chunmun and Udaan, are now being published by the Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC) under the Department of Education, Government of Bihar. These magazines are being distributed to government schools across Bihar, including several schools in Darbhanga, where our team works.
Chunmun Magazine
The Chunmun magazine is designed primarily for children in grades 1 to 5. It features a collection of engaging, child-friendly stories and poems paired with colourful illustrations. Beyond just reading material, the magazine incorporates games, activities, moral lessons, and creative content tailored to keep children in this age group independently engaged.
Udaan Magazine
The Udaan Junior magazine is aimed at students in grades 6 to 8. It features more advanced, science-oriented content compared to Chunmun, including articles on science, mathematics, general knowledge, career guidance, inspirational stories, and creative writing.
Objectives
The primary objective of these two magazines is to instill reading habits in children, foster imagination, introduce ethical values, raise environmental awareness, and promote creative thinking. Ultimately, they aim to develop a child’s ability to think beyond textbook knowledge.
While prescribed textbooks feature interesting stories and scientific principles in simple language, students often feel pressured to focus solely on exam scores when engaging with textbooks. This drive for high marks can lead to rote learning, where the joy of reading is lost. Furthermore, when teachers evaluate students primarily on grades, it reinforces memorisation over genuine understanding.
In this context, magazines like Chunmun and Udaan Junior inspire children to read using engaging content and attractive presentations. Today, mobile phones and digital devices are central to children’s lives, but they can hinder development by reducing attention spans, delaying language and cognitive growth, and causing social or emotional challenges. Chunmun and Udaan Junior offer an alternative that helps children overcome digital dependency while developing essential creative and social skills.
The impact of these magazines is even greater in rural areas, where access to quality books is often very limited. Under these circumstances, freely distributed materials become vital for the development of rural students.
Challenges / Shortcomings:
- Irregular Distribution: Currently, the delivery of these magazines is quite irregular, which limits their classroom usefulness.
- Limited Quantity: Schools seem to be receiving sets of only 12 copies of Chunmun and 15 copies of Udaan Junior, which restricts individual student access.
- Content Expansion: There is further scope to enrich the magazines by incorporating local folk tales and creative submissions written by the students themselves.
These magazines represent a positive and practical initiative by the BEPC. By fostering creativity, the project supports the holistic development of children—a key goal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The initiative serves as a critical bridge to connect students with printed materials in a digital age, helping to mitigate the developmental risks associated with excessive screen time.
By providing engaging stories and practical scientific content, the magazines encourage children to look beyond rote learning and find a genuine joy in reading. Furthermore, efforts to integrate Maithili language development and strengthen school assemblies through these interactive materials highlight the project’s potential to enhance local cultural engagement and academic planning.
