Bihar Teachers Protest ‘Clouds’ Kumar’s United Opposition Dream   

New Delhi: Sushasan Babu faces a massive challenge in his backyard that could unravel a united Opposition he is desperately trying to stitch up to challenge the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. 

Around 4 lakh contractual school teachers (Niyojit Shikshak) in Bihar are out on the street demanding “equal pay for equal work”, regularisation of service and withdrawal or amendment of the new recruitment rules. 

In May-end, the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) notified the appointment of 1,70,461 school teachers in a big setback for contractual teachers. Under the Bihar State School Teachers (appointment, transfer, disciplinary action and service condition) Rules, 2023, teachers would be appointed under one standardised process and have status equivalent to state government employees with separate district cadres. 

According to contractual teachers, candidates who cracked the Teacher’s Eligibility Test (TET) and were hired will likely have to retake a centralised BPSC exam.

Aspirants for the 1.70 lakh vacancies have joined the contractual teachers against the state cabinet’s decision to scrap the domicile policy, allowing applicants from across the country to apply for these vacancies.  

The contractual teachers, serving for almost 20 years, can also take the BPSC exam if they are within the advertised age limit. But they will not be entitled to any financial benefit or promotion even if they crack the examination. 

Instead, they will be considered fresh appointees who must serve two-year probation. And if the working teachers fail to crack the exam, their service conditions will remain unchanged.

Even new appointees will also not get any Pay Commission-recommended pay but a fixed remuneration not above Rs 34,000—the salary of subject teachers in 10+2 schools.

In 2006, the then-Nitish Kumar-led NDA government abolished the sanctioned posts of teachers at public-funded schools, appointed staff on a contractual basis and fixed salaries through Panchayati Raj institutions and municipal bodies. 

From 2006 till 2022, around four lakh teachers, including para teachers (Shiksha Mitras), were appointed on fixed pay and annual increment. 

KUMAR AGREES TO MEET TEACHERS

Following the massive protest by teachers in Patna and the uproar caused by opposition BJP MLAs and MLCs during the ongoing Monsoon Session on Tuesday, the chief minister (CM) finally agreed to meet with teacher representatives.

Secondary School Teachers Association general secretary Shatrughana Singh termed Kumar’s decision to meet teachers a “partial victory”. “It’s only the beginning. There’s a fierce battle ahead,” he told Newsclick vowing that they won’t accept anything less than regularisation of teachers, the status of state employees and other benefits.

When teachers protested demanding regularisation of service, a Pay Commission-recommended pay scale and other benefits, “sensing trouble in 2020 Assembly election, Kumar announced a pay hike of 22%”, Singh added. The salary increment—a 15% rise in basic salary plus EPF contribution, came into effect in April 2021. 

“But today, primary school teachers are drawing higher salaries than subject expert teachers of higher secondary schools,” he said.

Explaining the disparity, Singh said, “The government had said that teachers appointed before the July 2015 pay fixation would get an increment after every three years. Therefore, they got only three hikes instead of nine increments between 2006-2015. Over a period of time, junior teachers either started earning more or equal than their senior counterparts.”

He accused the government of “duping” teachers and slammed state education minister Chandra Shekhar, who had defended scrapping the domicile clause by arguing that the Education Department was not getting quality mathematics and science teachers.

“While teachers struggle for livelihood, the government expects them to impart quality education. They are paid lesser than a grade IV employee and no bonus. Announcing the revised pay scale was a political gimmick; teachers were fooled and cheated,” he added.

The government, Singh alleged, is not ready to give a paltry increment of Rs 1,000- Rs 2,000. “Teachers are not treated with respect nor get the right salary. When they protest, they face police batons,” he said adding that several teachers retired without any benefit,

Singh warned the government to either agree to the demands or face consequences. Almost every household in the state, he said, has one or two teachers. “Four lakh is not a smaller number. It can destroy Nitish Kumar’s goal of rooting out the BJP government and becoming prime minister.”

Asked about the outcome of his recent meeting with RJD president and former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav, the biggest ally of the ruling coalition, Singh said, “He acknowledged that what is happening with teachers is not good. He assured me of personal intervention and a way to resolve the issue.”

But at the same time, he said, the RJD too took advantage of the situation of contractual teachers, who were promised same pay for same work by then-Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav. “When the RJD was out of power, it justified our demands. But now it is also maintaining a criminal silence,” he alleged.

RJD’s Bihar chief Jagdanand Singh refused to comment when Newsclick asked him about the allegation and his party’s efforts to resolve the issue.

Praveen Kumar, another office-bearer of the Association, said that even new appointees will get only the status of a state employees.

“Para teachers are drawing a basic pay of Rs 29,000. If they cack the exam, their basic pay would be reduced to Rs 25,000. Similarly, teachers of secondary and higher secondary schools getting Rs 31,000 and Rs 32,000, respectively, would continue to get the same salary, he told Newsclick.

Hypothetically, “if contractual teachers retain all the 1.7 lakh posts, won’t it be a fraud with the aspirants?” he asked.

‘NITISH DOESN’T LISTEN’

Not only is the BJP trying to ‘hijack’ the protest for electoral gains, the partners of the ruling coalition have supported teachers. Alliance partners and some JD(U) members have warned Kumar of the issue impacting the chances of an Opposition alliance in 2024.

Extending his “unconditional” support to the protesting teachers, JD(U) leader and MLC Sanjeev Kumar Singh said that he vehemently opposes the new recruitment rules.

“It’s not intended to improve the state’s education standard. Ignoring years of service of teachers is against ethics and social justice. Therefore, I will continue to fight for their rightful demands in and outside the House,” he told Newsclick.

Congress Rajya Sabha member and party’s state president Akhilesh Prasad Singh too said that the teachers are being “humiliated” and “disrespected”. 

“No sane person can justify this. Their demands are genuine. As promised, we hope that the CM would address the apprehensions of the protesting teachers,” he said adding that “the palpable anger can severely impact the prospects of an Opposition alliance, at least, in Bihar”.

However, the Congress has supported scrapping the domicile policy. “The state government must have decided after due consideration. It’s a complex issue and must be understood in totality,” said Congress Legislature Party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan, adding that “there is nothing wrong in the decision to withdraw the domicile requirement”. 

“If we don’t do it, we have no moral right to condemn instances of attacks on job aspirants from Bihar in other states. We are all citizens of India. Where does the question of domicile arise? We must appreciate the decision,” he added.

Another partner, the CPI(ML), has opposed the decision to scrap the domicile policy. Sandeep Saurabh, the party’s legislature leader, said that the decision is illogical.

“At least, nine states have the domicile policies. In Uttar Pradesh, only an outsider living in the state for five years is eligible for government jobs. In Jharkhand, 90% of government job are reserved for locals. In Gujarat, no outsider can apply for Group C jobs,” he said.

“We have aggressively raised the demands of the teachers in the House. Our party had asked Nitish Kumar to consider this issue since the beginning,” he told Newsclick from Patna.

He discussed the issue with Kumar and his deputy Tejashwi but to no avail. “The problem with Nitish ji is that he doesn’t want to listen to anything against his decision,” he said.

Saurabh was “disappointed” with Tejashwi as well. “He defended the revised recruitment rules arguing that teachers are agitated because they aren’t performing honestly. According to him, public education institutes would get meritorious teachers,” he said quoting Tejashwi.

“Isn’t it funny that the government wants to import so-called quality teachers without paying them well?” he asked.

Contractual teachers “have already proved their abilities” by qualifying the TET and the efficiency test. “They are, in fact, a step ahead of the National Council for Teacher Education standards,” he claimed.

Saurabh said that subject expert teachers are appointed only to higher secondary schools via the State TET. “It had the domicile clause to ensure maximum representation of the state’s youth.” Primary and secondary school aspirants had to take the Central TET, which allows aspirants from across the country.

“What was the need to introduce a third mode of recruitment?” he asked vowing to fight for the protesting teachers until their demands were met.

Tirhut MLC and CPI leader Sanjay Kumar Singh also raised the same point. “The government appointed contractual teachers in 2006. Now, they are being asked to take a written test just to get the status of state employees. It’s arbitrary,” he told Newsclick.

“Nitish ji is stubborn; he does not listen to anyone except bureaucrats, who make policies without consulting THE political leadership and stakeholders,” he alleged.

CPI(M) leader Arun Mishra too said that his party “unconditionally” supports teachers. “The government is providing a weapon to the BJP when talks are going on to form an Opposition alliance to defeat the saffron party in 2024. It would be suicidal if Nitish Kumar does not rethink his decision and address the demands,” he added.

DISPARITY HAS INCREASED

Since the 2006 appointments, the disparity in salaries and service conditions at government schools has “alarmingly increased” and created an atmosphere of fierce conflict, Gajendra Kant Sharma, a member of the editorial board of Prachya Prabha—a mouthpiece of the teachers’ association—said.

“The government should have tried to eliminate the disparity. On the contrary, it has widened the gap by making new rules. Students are the real sufferers in the struggle. The inequalities among teachers eventually translate into social inequalities outside schools. The government, which talks about social justice, must note it,” he said. 

A major chunk of the last eight State Budgets was allocated to education. Out of the 2023-24 Budget Estimate of Rs 2,61,885,40 crore, 15% (Rs 40,450,91 crore) was allocated to education.

The state government spends huge amounts of money on various educational schemes like student credit cards, etc. There is a long list of expenses not concerned with education. Spending a huge part of the state funds on such schemes is cited as one of the major reasons for the decline in Bihar’s standard of education.