A day after Bihar cabinet approved new rules for recruitment of teachers in the state, protests have started over the modalities of appointment which are a clear departure from the current mechanism, in place under the Nitish Kumar government since 2006 and under which nearly 3.5 lakh teachers have so far been appointed through the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs).
The recruitment process involving PRIs has itself been in controversy all through, with the issue of teachers allegedly appointed on fake documents landing up in the Patna High Court and the vigilance probe ordered by the court to ascertain the bona fides of the teachers appointed turning out to be an endless exercise even after over seven years, as a large number of documents went missing. Besides, there has been a question mark over the quality of teachers appointed through the PRIs, which often caused embarrassment to the government.
What is the new rule
Called the Bihar state school teachers (appointment, transfer, disciplinary action and service condition) Rules, 2023, it entails one standardised process for appointment of all kinds of school teachers, who will have status equivalent to the state government employees, with separate district cadres. Those appointed since 2006 would also have the option of joining this cadre, but for that they would also have to take the exams, which has now become the central point of contention. Besides, thousands of those having qualified teachersтАЩ eligibility test (TET) conducted by the Centre and the state government are also not happy with the prospect of facing yet another centralised exam, which is likely to be conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).
Additional chief secretary (education) Dipak Kumar Singh said, тАЬThe BPSC will conduct the exam for all kinds of school teachers. Those having cleared TET and those already working will also need to take the test to be under the state government. The number put together may come to around two lakh. We will send a proposal to the General Administrative Department (GAD), which will notify it.
Once BPSC is notified as the agency for conducting exams, the process will begin with calculation of vacancies as per roster for advertising the posts.
Three types of teachers
After the appointment of teachers under the new rules, Bihar will have a third type of teachers in schools,besides the existing two. The first category is of teachers appointed prior to 2006 and around 60,000 of them still remain in service. The second is of those appointed since 2006 through PRIs. Now, the third category will be of teachers appointed through BPSC, who will be given status of state government employees and would have a better salary structure and service conditions than the teachers appointed since 2006, who are nearly 3.5 lakh in number. тАЬThe pay scale will be notified by the finance department. We are working on all aspects,тАЭ said the ACS.
Protests against exam
Meanwhile, associations of school teachers and TET/STET qualified candidates have started agitation against the new rules and threatened to intensify it. Shouting anti-government slogans, many of them protested outside the RJD party office on Tuesday, alleging that the government was only trying to delay the process by making provision of yet another exam when the candidates have already cleared TET/STET conducted by it. тАЬThis black order needs to be withdrawn forthwith, else we will take to the streets for a decisive struggle,тАЭ one of them said, requesting not to be identified.
тАЬMany of us have cleared exams four times and the government all along assured that the appointment will be done soon. Now when the time came, it is asking us to take another exam. When the government prepared the merit list once, why should it ask us to take another exam? We want appointment letters, not notification for exams. They are trying to fool us,тАЭ another said.
Bihar state primary teachersтАЩ association criticised the creation of a separate caste of teachers and demanded that all teachers appointed through PRIs and working since 2006 should also be given the status of state government employees.
A joint statement by association president Brajnandan Sharma and general secretary Nagendra Nath Sharma said creation of a separate cadre would never be acceptable to the existing lot of teachers, though they welcomed the government decision to grant them the status of government employees. тАЬThe old teachers should not be asked to take exams for availing the benefits given to new teachers. After all, it was the government decision to appoint teachers through PRIs. There should be no discrimination. There is no need of a new cadre. If the government does not remove this anomaly and goes ahead, the association will resort to statewide agitation,тАЭ the statement said.
An agitation by teachers at this stage could not only derail the new academic session, it could also hit the process of caste survey, which has involvement of school teachers.
Opposition BJP, meanwhile, also joined the issue. MLC Nawal Kishore Yadav, who is also a teachersтАЩ leader, said the new recruitment rules were a mirage for the TET/STET qualified teachers and a bad joke with the teachers working since 2006 in the hope that they would get the status of government employees sooner or later. тАЬThey have been demanding equal pay for equal work for a long time and it was also the poll promise of the current ruling dispensation,тАЭ he said.
тАЬAfter all, why does not the government trust its own exams? The candidates have cleared TET and CTET, they enrolled with B.Ed programme after passing the entrance test and then completed it through final exams. Now, when they were waiting for appointment, the government has framed new rules for yet another competitive exam. Will Bihar youths be taking exams all their life with no certainty of recruitment? Those already working were hoping for transfer facility and better salary, but have got another exam rider. We will be with the teachers in their fight right from the legislature to the streets,тАЭ he said.
The CPI-ML, which support the ruling coalition in Bihar from outside, has also come out in support of agitating students. тАЬThose waiting for appointment letters should also be kept out of the new rules and appointed, as per earlier announcement. The government had conducted STET in 2019 as a competitive exam and it should not back out,тАЭ said CPI-ML state secretary Krunal.
Chop and change not good
Social and educational activist Nawal Kishor Choudhary said the new rules were actually a U-turn. тАЬJust like it happened in the case of college and university teachersтАЩ appointment, the government has reverted to the old system for recruitment of school teachers, which is an admission that it was wrong to change the established procedures. The state has suffered immensely due to faulty policies implemented without required brainstorming. Even in colleges and universities, it has no clear policy as it keeps chopping and changing to further delay the process and allowing the system to run through guest teachers for years. The government dissolved the Bihar State University Service Commission and later revived it. Now again, it is in two minds. For school teachers, there was Vidyalay Seva Board, which was dissolved. Now, it is talking of a commission. Clarity at the government level is important. It cannot have different sets of teachers for the same job,тАЭ he said.
In the 2022-23 budget, the government had announced to appoint 48,762 primary teachers, 5,886 physical education trainers, 44,193 teachers in secondary schools, 89,734 teachers in higher secondary schools and 7,360 computer teachers. However, the teacher aspirants were agitating over delay in advertisement of vacancies.
