In various districts of Bihar, educators employed in state-run schools orchestrated demonstrations in front of block offices, fervently advocating for government employee status for all long-serving contractual educators within these educational institutions. Alongside this fundamental demand, they called for the immediate cessation of all departmental actions, including suspensions, which had been recently undertaken by the state education department against numerous teachers.

In no uncertain terms, the protesting teachers conveyed their message: if their demands are not duly acknowledged and addressed, their agitation will escalate significantly. Raju Singh, the convener of the TET Primary Teachers’ Association, explained, “Almost all teachers’ associations in the state had unanimously decided to protest against the department’s recent decisions. Teachers of government schools in the state staged dharnas outside their respective block offices today. They also burnt effigies of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.”

As part of their protest, demonstrators chanted slogans that encapsulated their key demands, primarily the attainment of government employee status for all contractual teachers and the prompt withdrawal of departmental actions. Singh contended that the state’s education department had initiated punitive measures against teachers who had voiced their objections, including suspending certain educators.

The education department recently implemented a series of stringent measures designed to enhance the commitment and diligence of teachers and officials, ultimately aiming to improve the academic environment within government-run schools across the state.

Furthermore, Singh asserted, “We also demand that the department should immediately stop engaging school teachers in other governmental activities, including election-related work. Teachers have already started offering their resignations in those areas where they are being engaged in non-teaching activities.”

The government had issued recent directives to district magistrates throughout the state, instructing them not to assign school teachers and state education department employees to the task of verifying documents for candidates who had participated in the school teacher recruitment examination for 2023. This examination had been conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

Source: PTI