PATNA: A joint committee of 28 teachers’ associations in Bihar on Thursday gave ultimatum to the government to bring necessary changes in the new recruitment rules vetted by the state cabinet within 24 hours, or they would boycott the second phase of caste survey starting April 15 across the state, even as the state government moved ahead by seeking vacancy positions for secondary and higher secondary schools from the district education officers (DEOs) through a letter.
Director, secondary education, Sanjay Kumar wrote to all the DEOs that the Bihar state school teachers (appointment, transfer, disciplinary action, and service condition) rules, 2023, was in force from April 10 and hence district-wise details of vacancy should be furnished in the prescribed format for appointment under new cadres.
All the teachers’ bodies, including those of the aspirants having qualified different teachers’ eligibility tests of the state government and the Centre, met under one roof in Patna and resolved to issue the ultimatum to the government. They have formed a joint teachers’ struggle forum comprising 28 associations.
This happened after Jan Suraj’s Prashant Kishor came out in support of the teachers, urging them to take a leaf out of the farmers’ movement in Delhi, which made a strong Narendra Modi government pull back its steps, and come on one platform for a decisive struggle.
“They say there are over 30 teachers’ unions. The farmers also had 18 different unions, but they joined hands to show their might. If four lakh teachers join hands, the Bihar government will have to listen and make changes. When teachers’ bodies come to one stage, the political parties will start taking them seriously. Join hands and see the impact. Have your individual bodies, but for a common cause come on one stage, if you want to be taken seriously,” he said.
Opposition BJP and the government ally CPI-ML have already extended their support to the teachers, terming the new recruitment rules a mirage. Another meeting of all the teachers’ bodies has been called on April 15 at the residence of CPI-ML legislature party deputy leader Sandeep Saurav to work out future strategies. “My party will work shoulder to shoulder with the teachers for their genuine cause,” Saurav said.
BJP MLC and teachers’ leader Nawal Kishore Yadav said that the new rules were a bad joke with working teachers as well as the teacher aspirants, who had been given assurance of appointment several times in the past. “We will fight with the teachers from the streets to the legislature if the government failed to withdraw it. The teachers have been working in schools for the last 17 years and now the government has woken up to hide its failures at their cost,” he added.
