– Arun Srivastav

The Bihar government is introducing e-service books for its six lakh school teachers, librarians, and non-teaching staff. It will contain details about the appointment, educational certificates, salary, increments, promotions, transfers, departmental actions, and educational certificates, said Dr S Siddharth, additional chief secretary of the education department, in a recent letter to district education officers. 

The move comes amid concerns raised by parents and other education stakeholders about fraudulent documents and unfair practices used in teacher appointments. Dr Siddharth added that with all the service details put online, senior education department officials can easily access information about individual teachers and make quick decisions on various issues. 

The Bihar education department is also launching a new website to address teacher transfer requests. Notably, the Bihar government recruited over two lakh teachers in two phases within a time frame of 70 days. In the first recruitment phase, 1.17 lakh teachers were appointed by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on November 2, 2023, followed by appointment of 96,000 lakh teachers on January 13, 2024. The newly launched website will offer a transfer application format that teachers requesting transfer must fill out and submit. 

According to Dr Siddharth, teachers will be given adequate time to apply for transfers. Female, differently abled, and seriously ill teachers can choose ten panchayats of preference. Male teachers will be asked to name ten preferred subdivisions. The transfers will be completed before the schools close for the winter holidays, typically in December-January so that teachers can join new schools after the winter holidays. The transfers will be made through a computerised system with minimal human interference. 

The latest e-service book initiative and computerised teacher transfer cap a series of digital initiatives in the state’s primary-secondary education landscape.

According to a government school teacher, recent initiatives in Bihar’s school education sector has made the state a frontrunner in many respects. For instance, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) curriculum rivals CBSE, with the standards being even higher in some respects. 

Teachers’ attendance is another area where digital technology effectively addresses loopholes. The exclusive attendance app ensures teachers can only mark their entry and exit within a specified radius of the school, typically 100 metres. 

All leave applications are made through the app, and leaves are sanctioned according to pre-defined criteria. 

However, not everyone is impressed with these achievements. Poll strategist and the Jan Suraj party chief Prashant Kishor often claims in his public speeches that the Bihar government distributes khichadi (midday meal) through schools and degrees through colleges; actual education is missing. 

Many believe that schools in rural areas have fewer teachers and grossly inadequate infrastructure, which induces student dropouts.  

Another controversial topic is the regularisation of contract teachers. The state government employs 3.64 lakh contract teachers who earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month. While the government has, in principle, agreed to convert them to regular permanent employees, this promise is yet to be fulfilled as the modalities, such as age and competency status, have yet to be fixed. 

Meanwhile, another recruitment of 1.7 lakh teachers is in the pipeline. Many believe that the government uses these contract teachers, who allegedly create problems for the BPSC-appointed teachers in schools, as their voting machinery. 

Another dichotomy in the Bihar government’s aggressive recruitment and digital makeover is caste-based appointments and transfers, which  distorts the learning environment in schools.  

“In its rush to modernide the education system, the government has harmed basic education. Now, schools have become hub of various kinds of experiments, borrowed from other states. The old education system was more effective. The Bihar government has destabilised the school education system,” says Jai Ram Sharma, state president Bihar Primary Teachers Association.

“Out of the five lakh-odd teachers, 40 percent are Mukhiya-appointed teachers. They don’t have a strong educational background that makes them fit for a teacher’s job. Even those who have come through BPSC are not quite fit for a teachers’ career. Many of them are said to have submitted fraudulent documents.”

Also read: Delhi govt mandates regular inspections of state-run schools